Unfaithful
by Gilded Blue
Summary: Accounts from those involved in the story of Bulma's infidelity and the scheming, sex, and games behind it. "I didn't just... run into his arms, you know!" B/V
1. Unfaithful Part 1: Yamucha

**Unfaithful **

I would've never expected it to get so out of hand. All I wanted was everything and _everything _was _nothing _I could ever have. My life's simple meaning ran away from me in a mere second.

Talk about a fleeting thought.

I love her. I hate her. I need her. I made her. I want her. I crave her. I complete her.

Bulma is one of the best things that have ever happened to me and I will always be thankful to her in some way or another. But sometimes things aren't always as they seem. I thought I loved her, no, to rephrase that, I thought she loved me. In fact, I thought she was crazy about me. I thought we were forever. Nothing lasts forever. This is a love story, just not one about me.

To make this clear neither of the two of us was perfect from the start. We were two lonely teens who needed someone to care and we just let physical attraction take hold of us. Soon that attraction grew into something more. Something much, much more. Love.

I'm not a power thirsty animal like Vegeta. I'm a _good guy_, and I know my limits, I believe in them and I won't break them even if somehow for some reason I could, but in bed there are no limits. See, it should have been very simple with Bulma. I'm a _good guy. _She's the beautiful woman on the sidelines, keeping our secrets and playing minor roles in the battles. Mostly just involving herself to feel important, honestly. We were the obvious couple in the group. I was attractive, she was attractive. A couple in perfect sight, as if fashioned with cookie cutters.

Anyway, I was the _good guy. _Vegeta was the _bad guy. _We were going to get married, and Vegeta was going to assist us for his own selfish reasons and then vanish as though his presence never changed a thing at all in our world. It was a deal that we made to ensure survival. Nothing personal. The only one that really seemed to have any sort of great faith in Vegeta was Gokou, and I guess Bulma.

We were both greedy lovers, always looking for someone better but never really doing much more. Naturally my eye was always open, and I might have drooled or even dreamed, but never touched.

When they came on to me, I felt the need to hold their frail bodies. It made someone like me feel like God. Who'd give that up?

They aren't strong, those women. They _want _to be strong, seem like they're in control, not only of me but of themselves as well, just to please me so I'll know I don't take them over the edge. But the thing about these women that was most appealing was that the power games didn't go to any sort of extreme. It wasn't a battle for control all the time. I guess some people like that. I liked being the strong one in the relationship. I liked being the man, the masculine one, the hero. And they knew of my martial arts history and they fawned over my strength in a way that would make Bulma turn her nose up.

And that makes me God. Who'd give that up?

I didn't know what Bulma Briefs wanted.

Alright, I was wrong. I have touched other women, Bulma was not my only, but I'd never been _unfaithful _to her. Be careful what you believe when you hear this story, some people are such liars. When we broke up, I'd get lonely, go to bars, women would come, and somehow we'd wake up in the morning and she'd say she had to go here or there and I'd say I had to go the opposite ways and we'd never see or hear from each other again.

What's wrong with that?

She walked me over the edge. She kicked me down just to see me dare rise again. She hasn't got anything in control. She's an actress in front of the crowd, she pretends she has no flaws, that she is completely and totally infallible. This is Bulma's world, after all. She doesn't try to dominate but she loves the sound of people being inferior. She will make you feel stupid. She will shut you down. It's hard to blame her, hold her accountable for being so arrogant. We're arrogant, all of us. She knows more than anything that she's in love with being superior.

Bulma's perfect. That's easy to see. From her appearance, you can tell no man would be crazy enough to turn her down, she's got money, power, brains, and though she's not physically strong, she can stand up to people. She is not afraid. In fact, she's a little _too good _at not being afraid.

She makes me seem weak.

I remember it all so clearly. The looks she shot at him as she yelled, maybe I should have looked harder, and I would have seen it. Was there passion glistening in those blue eyes of hers? Pretty as when she was young... I sigh now. Even then he took something from her that I never had. The things that he incited in her, the feelings that he managed to rouse with ease. After all this time it's hard to not feel the pinch of jealousy.

After all, I had a pretty good thing going for me.

It was a not-so-abnormal night; she was almost dressed, still fighting with Vegeta over nothing in particular importance, trying to think of new plans to finish a breakthrough invention. I sat on the couch, trying not to fall asleep on Bulma's lovable yet somewhat annoying, overly happy mother, Bunny. The older blonde was probably a knock-out in her day. I could always tell there was the slightest amount of animosity between the two women of the house. Bulma, while used to using her body to get what she wanted from a young age, believed in the sciences. Oh man, how she would go on sometimes about things I didn't care about at all! She knew it all went over my head, too. I think she liked that feeling.

I think Bunny always wished that Bulma would just pay attention to being a woman full-time, instead of a part-time job as my girlfriend and a full-time job as scientist and keeper of the prince. But then again, _who exactly _Bunny wanted Bulma to be paying attention to was always subject to discussion as well.

Way to go, Bunny.

She said something about how the two would ending up killing each other if the madness didn't stop soon. Bulma and Vegeta. I should've seen it. I should've been able to see the tension and attraction before. I never realized it would get so deep. I guess back then I didn't think about things in the sort of light that I do now. I was so, so... _trusting. _Caught up in a state of confidence and security, I didn't see it coming.

Of course Mrs. Briefs was right, Bulma and Vegeta fought nonstop and it got so annoying sometimes, not to mention hard to have a relationship with a woman that wanted to talk about another man, albeit in a negative way, so constantly. But then again, Bulma was never one to keep her mouth shut, one day I swear that man will end up killing her, then Gokou will come and kill Vegeta, but Vegeta still wins in the end.

Props to Vegeta, man. It must take some real energy, always trying to dedicate his life to winning that way. _Perfect couple. _

I've been pondering this for a while now-do bad guys ever win? I mean, I've never seen it so. Gokou always has things under control, before he became an alien I had things under control as well, but these days constantly playing catch up is saddening.

I'm one of the strongest human's alive but it means nothing because where do I stand next to Vegeta or Gokou?

My thinking came to an abrupt stop as Bulma, elegant and magnificent looking as usual, comes down the stairs of Capsule Corporation, like the princess coming to meet her common boyfriend. In times like these, while I never told even my greatest friends, I did feel inferior to her. I was never given the things that she was in childhood. I didn't have a classy education or a rich genius for a father. At the time I hadn't felt like she held it against me since our earliest years, when she took it upon herself to domesticate me.

Remember all those stories, where the princess and the prince fall madly in love, but the prince is suddenly lowered to third class, and the princess has to choose between a name or her true love?

That kinda felt like it. I, of course, was the third class used-to-be prince, while she still the beautiful princess, and she proved she made her choice by smiling at me, kissing me on the cheek, and grasping my hand a little. We weren't even going anywhere all that nice, but she came with me with a smile on her face. It fueled my sense of security.

So she chose her love.

Then, as the story would go, the whole kingdom applauds them as they race out in a golden chariot to a better tomorrow to live happily ever after. As if.

Mrs. Briefs, the symbol of the kingdom though she never had an objection to our relationship, not even Mr. Briefs did, sighed happily while waving her _goddess _of a daughter goodbye and we walked out to what I _wished _were a golden chariot. I don't mean to get sarcastic. I guess bitterness takes hold and doesn't want to let you go. Or you don't want to let go of it. I feel like, in a way, to completely forgive this would be to debase myself.

Still, I would have her in an instant if I could.

Unfortunately, it was merely what my salary could afford- a simple silver car, not _worthy _of her sight, small but sporty in some way, and cheap for sure compared to what she had, but to me it was awesome and something I was proud of, unless you were taking the richest woman in the world out. Then, it looked like a piece of mud.

So, instead of her going out in gold, she smiled a little and sat down in the passenger side, making no remark about the car. She had several cars, all millions of times nicer than this, but she made no snooty comment like you might have thought she would've. At that point I didn't even really remember the last time that she'd been in that car. I was almost expecting some sort of comment, but for whatever reason her spirits were high that night. Something good must have happened to her.

When Bulma was happy, she could be surrounded by nothing but what she would normally consider nothing and still think it worth her, worth being in her presence. She had this ability, she could completely disregard her wealth for me. For us.

She built up my security, I swear she did it.

Naturally, I hadn't let these thoughts cloud me from acting as I did normally around her, so I just playfully laughed, "You seem excited tonight." We pulled out, she was smiling out the window at first, and then her eyes met mine. Cheesy though it may sound, the moment our glances locked, I felt deeply in love with her. These were the types of moments that our entire relationship depended on sometimes. These were the moments that I remembered the mornings after our breakups, when I could smell cheap wine and sex in my apartment, and none of it took away the fact that it wasn't Bulma that had slept in my bed the night before. Sometimes, a million conquests succeeded cannot overshadow the one failure.

Her response was a nod, "I never seem to be able to find the time to go out with you. I'm glad that we could do this." High spirits, indeed! I'm not going to lie, I wanted to get lucky that night too.

I took her to Amante's, if I recall correctly.

Amante's is a French cafe, nothing fancy but casual, and good for a date. A chic choice, as she would have put it. She seemed to like it there. It had a bit of everything, some areas were formal, others casual, and the part we liked best and often requested were the chairs outside. We could create our own world, relatively without interruption out there, able to look out onto a man-made lake. The fountain was pretentious, but like all women, it was pretty and shiny and Bulma liked to glance out at it. Seems like an odd place for a date, especially one that she would actually be looking forward to, but the princess liked to dance and she sure knew how to, too.

I'd been asking her how her day was and her mood went exactly 180 degrees. We had not quite arrived at the place. She didn't seem to notice or care. Her perfect face huffed, and angrily she spit out, "Argh! That Vegeta! He's so damn ungrateful! I give him shelter, food, training supplies, and all he does is break them and demand that either my father or I fix them! He skips his meals and then either from lack of food or rest does some sort of torture to his body, or he blows the whole Gravity Chamber to hell and takes then he takes up nothing other than our medicine, time, and effort! Hell, with the androids coming, he wants to survive fighting them, but has he even thought about surviving training? I'm sick of him making me late for everything, it's almost like he does it on purpose- like he's saying in a bizarre way I have no personal life and I must be a slave scientist for him. Maybe so if we were back on his planet, in another time, where he's the great prince of _something_, but damn well not right now, this time, where I'm the daughter and heir of Capsule Corporation, and he's basically at Gokou's mercy! And that is his _only subject!_"

I laughed and patted her on the back. Now we're back to things getting normal. I guess I should've listened more. Paid attention to the way she felt about him taking her time, demanding her attention. I didn't. I was happy that she'd calmed down. I should have sensed the emotions building up. Friends would later tell me, _Gokou _would later tell me that I should not blame myself for this. That this was _supposed _to happen. Nothing kills me more than hearing one of my best friends tell me that someone like _Vegeta _was fated to be with _my girl. _

My nervousness subsided. This was Bulma Babe, here. Normal, regular moody Bulma Babe who was spunky and full of life. She wasn't a princess, she was my girlfriend. She was just Yamucha's girlfriend. I wasn't Bulma's boyfriend in places like Amante's, in public and around the press maybe so, but not with the real people in real life. There, she was just another pretty lady taken by Yamucha, "Sorry Vegeta's been an ass to you all day."

I didn't know what to say or how to handle the subject of Vegeta, to be perfectly honest with you. I guess that at this point it would be obvious that something about our communication had broken down, quickly. To me she was just venting, same as she had about Roshi and Kuririn and Gokou. She had had, in the past, plenty of men that she'd done updates for and helped train and taken care of and it never ended like this. It always ended the same way, in my _opinion _the _best _way: in my arms. Even when we would break up and I would take out other girls on dates and she would get jealous and be huffy (cute), we would always find a way back to each other.

In fact, after I _died _it seemed pretty obvious to me that that was the way it would always be. Bulma showed real loyalty to me, going out into space to find the Dragonballs to wish me back. She did that for _me. _Above all else that gesture in itself really was what got me started thinking about it, the 'M' word.

"How'd you notice?" She bit her lip, fiddling with her purse in her seat. She was flustered, I could tell by the jerky movements of her hands. I could just watch her all day sometimes, her mannerisms and body language. It was...

Cute.

It was cute when she pouted. She was so rarely feminine. Her body was one of the most perfect I'd ever seen, but she was never literally feminine. Her personality was too demanding, too dominant. I guess I expected that to change, for her to stay the damsel in distress type girl that I knew she could be. I don't mean to say I resent her independence, but she could have made me feel more important to her. I guess it doesn't help that she's been saved so often by other men. Her fantasies have not been full of me in a long, long time. I never was too fond of that part of her attitude. I think she knew that I was always more attracted to her when she acted vulnerable, because she rarely did.

She sounded completely oblivious to the anger, and shrugged it off, "So, why didn't you want to fly tonight?"

Ah, there it is. I had half-expected something about the car. I felt my hands grasp the steering wheel a bit tighter, as if protecting it from her tongue, the greatest lash of them all. I tried to not get offended prematurely, it was a pleasant evening after all. We would be there soon.

I shrugged, "You don't like flying."

"You do, normally you try to insist I fly with you." She continued, a slight smile on her lips and her brow raised. She was trying to get something out of me. It became apparent that she was more interested in my behavior. Something was going on in that mind of hers, she was thinking.

Always thinking, after all.

"And normally, you insist your hair is going to be messed up." I smiled and returned with a roll of my wrist. I was being a _gentleman. _

She smirked, not the evil way Vegeta did, but in a satisfied kind-of-way, "You know me too well, Yamcha."

"That I do, Bulma Babe." I leaned back, putting my hands behind my head for a while and pretending I didn't know I was driving the car, acting like I was on a vacation or something. I was an idiot. The car swerved a little bit, like a rocking ship.

She laughed a bit, "Silly, you're going to cause an accident!"

I can pinpoint it to this not-so unusual night that this all started. I've thought about it, over and over, and I truly believe that this is the night when it really all began.

But, see, at the time, it wasn't just a not-so-unusual night at all.

* * *

**-CL **


	2. Unfaithful Part 2: Yamucha

**Unfaithful**

_Ahh! Vegeta! _

My eyes go open-shut-open-shut and still I see Vegeta's naked ass and Bulma's hands caught up in his hair. I don't see much of her, Vegeta probably meant for it to be that way. Still it is unmistakably my fiancé. I see her hair swaying about as a result of their rigorous movement.

This is me walking outside and literally walking into the two having sex. It's hard to really remember my thought process at the time.

She's not mine. She doesn't belong to me. She's just my girlfriend. I love her; I want her to be mine. These are mostly the thoughts that are racing in my head as I watch Vegeta thrusting into my fiancé, Bulma Briefs, the night before our wedding, outside in the cold night. He's having her against the Gravity Chamber and she's looking at him and only him and he turns around just slightly to look back at me, and grin.

_Cat got your tongue? What's wrong weak Earthling, don't like that I've attained the services of your woman? Well, let's get something straight, shall we? She's _my _woman. _

This is what Vegeta says to me as he leers over his naked shoulder and I see Bulma's exposed flesh and hear something like a squeak of surprise.

"Yamcha!" She calls out my name and tries to break away from Vegeta's embrace. Her arm extends in my direction but Vegeta catches it. "He didn't have to find out like this, Vegeta!" Her voice is thick with emotion and her eyes are wild with panic. This is what she says to him. She doesn't quite find the strength to look back at me. I guess at that point I'd heard everything I really needed to know: Bulma wanted Vegeta, Vegeta wanted to own Bulma, and neither of them really seemed to care if I was in the picture or not.

How does one describe the perfect combination of heartbreak, humiliation, and rage?

Come to think of it, part of me just shuts down at the sight. You know how occasionally you see something so _wrong _you lose your sight completely? That's what just happened. I'm kind of blinking as I'm standing here, registering the soundtrack of Bulma's calling my name and Vegeta's rough laughter.

He's a sick bastard, you know. Go ahead, root for him. It's not like I care. In complete honesty, all I can say is Vegeta did it to prove a point: this entire event is nothing more than a combination between a demonstration of his superiority and sadism.

My sympathetic best friend looks on. Poor guy, he must feel so bad. It was his idea to come outside to spar before Bulma got back anyway. Little did he know, when we came outside we'd find Bulma, naked, crying out Vegeta's name in pleasure. Anyway, fade to black or something like that. I can't bear to remember the rest of the ordeal. You're just going to have to wait. You're just going to have to see for yourself, the extent of Vegeta's possession over Bulma, and the extent of her submission.

Then tell me he's a good guy. Tell me that one day he'll be great like one of us.

* * *

You know, I may not be perfect, but it's still hard to wrap my mind around what exactly it is about Vegeta that made her run and throw away her life with me. Am I an insane control freak? No. I'm not bizarre or sadistic. Maybe that's my problem. Heh. I'm would ever try to hurt Bulma in any way, shape, or form. So, Yamucha, buddy, what exactly do you mean?

"Bulma... this is the wrong place to say it and the wrong time and it's probably going to come out all exactly wrong, but please... can you hear me out for a moment?"

She stopped her meal, delicately putting her fork down and looking me in the eye, "Hmn?" She acts as if she's bored, that nothing's important, but I can see the worry in her eye, "Of course you can tell me. Go ahead."

I took in a deep breath, "Like I said, I'm not the richest man in the world- I'm not the smartest, and I'm not perfect. But I'll make you happy, and… Bulma I love you. We've been going out since you were sixteen and it's only gone from a silly little crush to love." I exhaled, and took another deep breath, not able to look into her eyes, "So now," I slid my hand into my pocket to only pull out a small box, feeling the black velvet. My finger touched the fine fabric. Closing my eyes, I knew what my finger was now running across; there was the shape of a rose in the velvet, blood red and beautiful as always. Slowly, taking it out of my pocket, I flicked the box open before her, "I'm asking you to marry me."

Her eyes brightened, those big blue orbs so light, so beautiful, and the room's light seemed to flood in, absorbing her. I was afraid, for a millisecond that she was smiling to mock me, like she was going to stand up and shout, throwing her water at me, "_No! Never! You're not good enough for me, Yamucha! I __**am**__ Bulma Briefs, daughter of the owner of __**the**__ Capsule Corporation, and who are you?" That she'd scoffed, and continued, "You're just some desert bandit I picked up and dusted off. If not for me where would you be? Dead? Still eating little lizards when there's no one to rob? You low-life! How dare you even think you could be enough! You're not good at anything! You couldn't even beat Gokou when you were a child! And now, you're a man, and where are you? Striving to catch up! Why should I, if you haven't already forgotten my brief explanation of who I am, marry someone like you? I need the best Yamucha,"_ Her voice becomes deadly soft, _"And you just aren't that."  
_  
What? No! Bulma Babe would never do that! Even if she thought I wasn't good enough-which I'm not- she'd just try to say something. She wouldn't stand up and act outraged. And she didn't.

"Yamucha, I, I, I'd love to!" She wasn't laughing at me, she was so happy she was about to cry! Excitement fills me. I'm happy that she's happy. We're beaming at each other in this one perfect moment.

"Am I… in a dream?" I spoke my thoughts aloud.

I blushed, as she responded, "Of course not, Silly!" She shined at me, but I just blushed more, I hadn't known I spoke my thoughts aloud. Shit! Shit! Shit! Stupid Yamucha, look cool! Suddenly we're kids again and she makes me feel weak, insecure, and awesome all at once. This is why I want her to marry me, the way that we love each other into good and whole people.

I smiled, and managed to stutter out, "But, I thought, you just said you'd love to marry me."

"I did!" She laughed, trying to sound annoyed at my shock, but she just fell out of her seat and hugged me.

I looked at the ring sadly, as beautiful as the box was, it wouldn't be enough-she was looking at me when she said yes, she hadn't even glanced at the ring, she gets more than this from her father for everyday wear that- like nothing more than a toy! She might have said yes, but when she took a look at the ring, her eyes would turn sad and immediately she'd wish she hadn't confirmed that she wanted to be my wife.

"What's wrong now, Yamucha?" She softly asked me, noticing my gaze. Following it, she reached forward for the black box.

I almost gasped out, "**No**!" But she just flicked it open again. It wasn't anything but a gold band with a simple teal jewel in the middle of two diamonds. I have no clue what size they or if it'll fit or what that teal jewel is but when I saw it all I thought was, 'Bulma!'

She opened her mouth in awe-she hates it! She's trying not to sob! She's going to throw it on the ground and stomp out, saying just as I thought she would before, maybe worse. I was wrong! Why is this so agonizing!

Wait, Yamucha, think straight, calm down, don't make a fool out of yourself! I stared at her, and began breathing hard.

"It's..."

I looked down and sighed, "I know, not much-"

"Beautiful! I love it!" I blinked, but she just beamed, "It's perfect!"

"You really like it?" I gave an unsure smile.

"Of course! How did you know?"

I blinked once again, "Know what?"

She laughed a little, "I described this almost exactly when my mom asked me what type of ring I'd dreamed of getting for my engagement ring." My smile faded, almost exactly. So she planned for one better. But Bulma didn't notice, "I didn't know it'd be so beautiful. I hadn't expected it to be so nice!"

I smiled, "The thought just came to me when I saw it. It just… called out to me. I heard your name when I saw it."

Placing the ring on her finger to prove it fit, which it didn't, a little too small and it made her finger look chubby and turn a little red, she smiled and admired her hand as if she didn't notice. It probably hurt and I frowned.

"It doesn't fit." I flatly said.

"Stop beating yourself up," She cheerfully said, putting her hand on my shoulder, "it can be re-sized."

I smiled and she sat back down for an excited meal- we were both trying our best not to explode from excitement.

She didn't talk about the things you'd think she'd want to talk about.

She didn't say anything about kids, or what to wear, or where to wed, or who to invite, anything. She didn't think about hiring the perfect designer for a perfect wedding of the perfect Bulma Briefs to the imperfect Yamucha. Oh yeah, wasn't he some baseball player?

But we ate and I tried to think. And then something really weird happens. I feel something, someone, who is out of place entirely. I _What_?

Was it him? I felt his ki, it was like he was breathing down my neck...

I should have known then and there. I should have figured it out, how _obvious _was it? It would have saved everyone a lot of time and energy and pain. This is one of those moments that you look back on and think about the way that things could have been different. I wonder if there was any way that Bulma and I could have ended up together.

I wonder if she was sleeping with him before or after she agreed to marry me. Not that she'll ever tell the truth. It didn't matter, that moment, anyway. I saw no fault in her eyes that day.

"Yamucha, what's wrong?" She looks concerned and attentive as she sets her eyes on me, trying to figure what it is that's caused me to suddenly look to the side and frown.

"Oh, nothing." I say this because I can't say his name. Even at this point, I am wary of her obvious attraction to him. Instead I resolve to find a way to get her to

It fades, and I close my eyes as she grasps my hand. I remember the word perfection came to mind. I really and truly with all sincerity believed that this moment was faultless.

As a result of my joy, I pushed the thought aside. The word delusional comes to mind. I really believed it couldn't have been him. Why would _he_ be here?

* * *

Its times like this that I cannot help but remember different isolated events that should have tipped everything off. That should have made this all seem so obvious and apparent to me. It was like writing on the walls, like he _wanted _me to figure it out and I was just too stupid to.

Or something. I hate that bastard.

Sometimes I would want to go play with the Gravity Chamber. Vegeta would be asleep or gone or wherever he was when he wasn't training (was he with Bulma?) and I would sneak in. I thought I could handle anything he could. I thought that with enough determination and courage I could do anything that he did.

I believed what I always believed, because I don't think at that time I truly understood how freakish Goku and to a lesser extent Vegeta truly were in raw power.

The room went red like crimson and sweat immediately begins to pour down my face as I struggle to breathe and move. I've let the machine go full-strength because I'm too hard-headed to have thought better.

The intensity of it all was maddening! And Vegeta spent hours under this level of gravity. I was afraid for my life. I never worked so hard for so little. All I could do was struggle just to turn the machine off. I collapsed on the floor for several minutes when it was all over with.

Really, I have always been a little afraid of Bulma. Why would I want to go run off and fight the androids when I couldn't even stand to fight with my own girlfriend? Somehow with Bulma you always end up feeling like a coward and a wimp.

And why did I want to marry her again? Oh wait. Never mind.

This is my annoyed resignation, years later.

* * *

We're driving home now, and even though it might have seemed like it was odd that after I propose to the woman, I take her to a movie, but I promised I'd take her to a movie and I did. We were pretty excited, giggling. Like kids again. This is the first movie we've gone to in a long time, and it's nice.

I'd been short on cash lately, and it's been embarrassing taking her out. Not because of her, there's nothing embarrassing about going out with her unless she makes a scene when I screw up, but because I'd have to take her to the cheaper places and dollar movies we'd see all the time.

She wasn't pleased, a woman like that wouldn't be, but she was always polite about it and never threw it in my face. Where was a guy to get money when he had to train? Baseball worked-until I left for how long? Dying kind of puts a damper on your career and social life.

First I was training, and then I happened to die. I'm on some sort of penalty and my salary got cut. I'm not dependable, or something. I'm way stronger than all of those people and I took a pay cut because I was off saving the world, or trying to.

Something about this seems pretty inherently wrong to me. I ought to write them a letter. I'll tell them, 'Well, I'm sorry I died.'

So, I've been practically living at Bulma's, half because my rent's overdue and I'll be kicked out when I dare show my face, and half because I don't trust Vegeta. When I do come home, it's long after my landlord's fallen asleep, and I have to leave. Sneaking around isn't that hard, there are perks to being a great warrior by normal human standards.

Still, the more immediate concern is Vegeta. He's letting her push him around, for now... he'll snap sooner or later. Did I mention I don't trust Vegeta? He's dangerous, and she just keeps pushing his buttons.

Everyone has a limit. But Vegeta… when he snaps, it won't be pretty.

I wish I had fast cars designed for rock stars and wads of cash, but I can't give that to her. She leaned against me, tired but content. One thought pounds in and out of my head.

I'm getting married.

Did I think about this? Of course I have. And not just since Goku made that comment about a baby... We're finally going to do it; we're finally going to get married. Tie the knot!

It feels so weird. So I've asked. She's accepted. We have so much to talk about; so much to plan, but all is calm right now. I laugh a little bit to myself as I think of what Hell it's going to be doing anything but what Bulma wants as far as the wedding plans go. She's got quite the temper, but I think maybe it'll be tamed when we get married.

Will everything be better when we get married?

I reached the Capsule Corp. and got her out of the little air car. She'd probably think I'm a pervert for carrying her out, she still has the independent woman arrogance streak, the same one that's going to get her killed the one day Goku or Krillin or I'm not around.

She probably thinks I expected sex just because I proposed. How could I put this without sounding like the exact type of person she thinks I am?

Sex with her is like a million sensations at once. Her perfect little body, tiny shoulders and gentle hands drive me mad, not that I'm not a lady pleaser myself. My fans were very excited about my return, and I'm not just talking about the guys with the beer bellies and season tickets. I love Bulma, I love making love to Bulma. Silk smooth skin, but that's not it. It's the way she looks at me, not even the clouded lust in her eyes. It's... love. Only when we're one is when her eyes cloud up. It's so... weird.

When she took off her dress I smiled at the body I'd seen a million times. Call me a romantic, but I could see us merging into one being when we had sex that night. Still, she was exhausted from a long day of training and I was restless and excited and awake. She tied a robe about her.

She yawned, stretching. Too tired to say much at all to me, or perhaps she just was too happy, she managed out of my arms, my embrace and my lips, and as if I wasn't even there, she stumbled to her room.

I didn't bother follow. I had too much on my mind.

I'm getting married!

I've got to tell someone!

I need to celebrate!

* * *

Jealous and it's not even like I can do anything about it. Vegeta knows how I feel about him, this, all of it. When I see Bulma I inevitably see Vegeta. He doesn't have to be at her side constantly to be trailing her in my thoughts. No longer can I isolate the two. They are a couple, the two have merged into one in my mind, whether Vegeta likes it or not.

There is now no Bulma without that Vegeta to follow her name. The memory of that damnable evening has been burned into my memory, as per Vegeta's intentions to be sure.

I'll never forget the hum of the Gravity Chamber that night.

* * *

**-CL**


	3. Author's Note

**Author's note:**

I'm rewriting Yamcha's third chapter. Everything from the previous third chapter has now been merged into the second. Be sure to look for it soon. In this new installment, we see Bulma and Yamcha confront each other after their big night among other things. Let me know what you think of the rewrites.

**-CL **


	4. Unfaithful Part 4: Kuririn

**Unfaithful**

It'd been expected for a while now that he'd ask her, but when I saw the grin on his face-it wasn't due to alcohol or cheap sex, I knew before he said a word and all I could do was exactly what I was expected to do.

Ah, yes, Bulma. She was like a lioness. Beautiful to watch until she had you by the throat, slowly and beautifully murdering you so that she could feed on you, her poor prey, and move to another.

And so when Yamucha came to me with the news that he'd tamed the lioness, or so he seemed to think he had, I had to blink for a moment.

Hey!

I wanted the lioness.

So I'd never _said _I wanted her, never acted on it, I probably wouldn't be alive today if I had, but still, I was a guy and one of my best friends was telling me he was going to marry the girl I'd had a crush on my entire life.

Okay, Bulma was loud. Very loud. But she was pretty when she was quiet. Like a child. A really smart, loud, angry child.

But there was obviously something there in the entire attitude I'd always been attracted to.

Even Maron, well she was a joke. That was just proof that I had no love life. And so after he slept with Maron, to this day he will say he didn't, but he did, he was now telling me that he was going to marry Bulma.

Well, it was expected, and even now I'm still sort of confused as to how it happened, but it happened, and I guess I regret my role in the entire story.

"I... see."

"Great, huh?" The man was fricken' bouncing off of the walls when he told me.

"Hush, you're going to bother the old man," I pointed to the door.

"But Kuririn, I'm getting _married_."

"And I'm about to go train so I can survive to see the wedding."

He froze and stared at me for a moment. "That..."

"What?"

"Well, it's just... you're right. I can't gamble and wait until those monsters come. You know as well as I do... that..."

He didn't have to say anything else, I knew. Compared to Gokou, Gokou that was my best friend in the entire world that I loved like a brother and never saw, we were nothing.

Yes, he'd told me once that he was bitter that Gokou "became" Saiya-Jin, and in a sense he did become one, but he always _was _one, he was _always _destined to be more powerful than we were one way or the other, even if he'd "stayed" Human.

Yamucha is jealous, and I guess I was a little bit too, but the way I saw it, neither of us had much of a right to be jealous of him, it seemed so low after he'd saved our lives so many times.

"So you're going to can-"

"We'll just have to move it up. The androids are going to come. So if we get married in... three months, we can have a little bit of time together and I'll at least have three months to train while she sets up her beautiful wedding. I'll have to get back to training eventually but maybe this will give me some time." He smiled, like he was intelligent.

I nodded a bit, "How's she going to take this?"

"Well, we never officially set a date... so I can just mention..."

"I see. And you don't think Bulma's going to be annoyed that you're rushing her?"

"She'll under..." He frowned, "Come with me?"

I sighed and nodded. He could be like a child at times. A big, sex-crazed child. I could never bring myself to be jealous of Gokou. Not with the way he's treated me after all the years I knew him.

But after Yamucha slept with Maron when I was dating her and he was dating Bulma, and after I'd caught Yamucha with woman after woman, innocent eyes trailing or physical touch, never really mattered, I always thought that Bulma would eventually get someone better and move on.

Now, I never really thought I'd be someone better, and I wasn't...

But looking back on everything now, I just wish maybe it hadn't happened the way it had to happen.

* * *

-CL


	5. Unfaithful Part 5: Kuririn

**Unfaithful**

It's not like I did it on purpose. I mean, I really and honestly didn't know at the time what damage I was going to cause, and I guess the worst is that he _did _catch me in the end, but he never exactly found out how deep in it I was and was able to forgive me, even fight by my side again. The guilt never really left. Like a weasel on crack, the guilt was.

Still I never told him. Maybe at one point or another Bulma did. Or Vegeta. But Vegeta is evil. Was evil. Whatever.

She smiled at me, like she was happy, and maybe at that point she was in love with him. My childish, sex-crazed friend with big hair, Yamucha, I mean. I have no idea when it started, or how it started, and I wouldn't ever dare ask. She leaned back, and looked at the ceiling, "Well?"

"Ehe." I could feel the sweat. Ehe was right, the smile turned awkward, her eyes narrowed, she was like a fricken' Jedi, she could tell when something was up, and her causal motions turned into the typical annoyed-Bulma actions. Her hands went to her chest, her warning that your ass was about to get chewed up and spit out if you don't slowly back away and run as fast as you can to the other part of the galaxy, and in some cases she would actually chase the poor being with a penis, as she almost never gets angry with _females, _to the other side of the galaxy, blaming him for inconveniencing her because she had to go out of her way at that point to yell at him. "Yamucha was just..."

"What's going on?" There was amusement in her voice, as she could smell the fear, and was getting excited. Even as a teenager she hadn't been as sadistic as she was at that point. Without doubt Vegeta, affair or not at that point, had passed the weasel of malevolence onto her which she was almost proud to display.

The Gods had mercy on the planet. They saw that Bulma was the next biggest threat against the universe and decided that Trunks was the solution. Typical male solution, she would call it, but hey, strapping a kid to her seemed to really do the trick. She generally only got scary on his behalf after he was born.

"You haven't set a date yet, have you?"

"You're _beating around the bush._"

I coughed. Okay, she was beautiful standing there in an all white suit, our rich girl. To be honest if she had an affair with anyone, I would've thought it would be Gokou, and her being impregnated by another woman seemed more likely than Gokou being unfaithful. He just didn't seem to be a very sexual being, which apparently is not Saiya-Jin, because Vegeta was, well... Very sexual. Apparently.

"Yamucha is just afraid he's going to die." There. I said it. I won, I managed to speak and not wet myself. I won. I consider the fact that I opened my mouth in itself a victory, everything else bonus points, so after that point I was so proud of myself it almost didn't matter to me that she started to twitch.

Almost.

"You..." Twitch, gulp, "Dare to say the," Gulp, twitch, "Day after he asks me to marry him," Twitch, gulp, "That he's afraid he's going to die," Gulp, twitch, "And remind me of his mortality," Twitch, gulp, "And the possibility of not being able to marry," Gulp, twitch, "The man I love?"

I stared. Fear had taken over my body, and I thought I couldn't shrink anymore. Her hands were balled into pretty fists, the sign that it was too late and death was inevitable at this point, her upper body seemed to jut out a little more as she approached me until our noses touched while she growled.

"Nononononono!" I squeaked, shaking my hands, trying to ward off the wrath of woman. "It's just, he's shy, he wants to move the wedding up-three months, so he has half the time to train and you can set the wedding up so it suits _you _perfectly and he can try and survive and you have the other half to be a happily married couple. It'd be a win-win-win situation if I could get out of this alive?"

She considered, allowing me room to breathe.

"Think about it," I nodded and I didn't know why, I couldn't stop talking, but I was doing it so rapidly I doubt that she really cared about what I was saying ,"You can have the perfect, the dream wedding and he won't complain at all, he'll be strong enough to live...I may live to see tomorrow..."

"Hah. Hah." She dryly returned to her computer desk, "Okay. Though I'm still not sure why he didn't just bring it up himself."

Because you're the most intimidating woman that ever did exist, other than ChiChi. There is equal ferocity there. Even Launch with the freaky split-personality problem, you, are the queens. Congratulations. You both can even conquer Son Gokou, universal savior. You could take over the universe. If Vegeta were smart he would've just used you instead of trying after the Dragonballs, and as soon as that time of the month came around anyone would be willing to do anything to keep you happy...

But I smiled, "He's just been really shy. He wants everything to be perfect for you and didn't want to upset you or make you think he was weak." Which, by the truth and standards, we both were, "Yanno, by reminding you about the whole pending dea-" She tilted her head towards me, "Thing. I mean, not that he will die, but you know, moving on!" I coughed, "And some women really want their husbands-to-be, to be more involved what with the wedding planning and stuff and such."

She sighed, "Whatever. I have to get back to work, I'm got some stuff to prepare for my dad, he's got a meeting tomorrow, and then I need to repair and make updates on some of Vegeta's stuff." She said his name with disdain, she really did seem to hate him. But we're all going to say that we should've known-just because he was special to her in some way.

I wonder if the affair had started before this or after.

But I looked serious for a moment, "You know, you really should be more careful..."

"I had that dream again last night." She sighed, turning to a window to watch the Gravity Chamber. But once again, I didn't read the signs, I didn't take into account that the sigh may not have been frustration and may have been indicating she was desperately in love with him. I mean, come on, who in the Hell just dreams about a member of the opposite sex for no apparent reason?

And yet I blinked, "What dream?"

"Eh, it gets more real, each time, yanno." She said, in a bit of a daze, "But it always ends right after he kisses me." And abruptly, she turned, her eyes a bit watery, "Does that make me a bad girlfriend?"

"Well, I wouldn't tell Yamucha..." I shook my head, "Really would be a bad idea. I think it's just you becoming more and more aware of the fact that you're going to be pretty permanently off the market soon."

"But I didn't know before that we were going to get engaged." She sat, sighing, this time in definite annoyance with herself.

"Hmn..." I crossed my arms over myself, thinking a bit, which she might have considered a rare and beautiful thing, "But it's not like you haven't been expecting him to for a while now."

"That's true." She got up, "Heh, thanks, Kuririn." And she kissed me on the cheek. "It's stupid, really. I mean, you know I love Yamucha, right?"

"Sure, Bulma. Sure."

And I really did believe she did.

* * *

Dense would be a great word to think of at this point. I mean, she's telling me she's dreaming about the other guy as she sighs and looks out through the window, even though she seems playfully annoyed, all she does is obsess over fixing and updating his machines-borderline enjoying catering to him, she playfully flirted with him, they fought like cat and dog, she let him _live _in her house, and I think: Where were we? How did we not read this?

But she honestly did seem happy, playfully roughhousing with Yamucha. And it wasn't for a week that I noticed there was someone else watching the couple from the shadows. My bitterness was in the shadows with him, on the outside I would only add in bad puns and tell them to settle down, because they would get _so _into each other they would practically start having sex in front of me.

And the entire idea was that he train, but the couple was completely inseparable. It's not like I ever really liked Vegeta, even now, and it's not like I was particularly angry with Yamucha, I was happy for them, I just would rather be happy for me.

I'd like to say that "It takes one to know one" is true, but I just think it's because Vegeta is such a natural, and because even I couldn't exactly detect what he ultimately wanted, living around the scum of the galaxy for so long he can easily identify the things that no one is supposed to know. Maybe that's how he detected Bulma's lust for him, and that's what I'd brushed it off as, really, and was able to use her to his advantage. I mean the man got her to actually settle down and marry him, something that seemed impossible. The man she'd dated since she was a teenager couldn't have even talked her into children, even when they were really and honestly absolutely in love before he existed in our world and Gokou "became" a Saiya-Jin.

One way or another, he did the same with me. Well, we didn't have sex, thank the Gods, but still, he had his way and was able to pull all the right strings like a genius, an evil genius, always can. So they were holding hands and staring like vegetables at a TV screen, a few jokes, a few light comments, like "Those jeans make her look fat," but what was unbearable was that they got closer every few seconds.

So I escaped. I don't think he really exactly planned on me crossing his path, though at this point it is apparent he wanted to at one time or another, I was just walking outside as he happened to be getting ready to go in.

I can't really believe I didn't notice it, possibly because I was more afraid of him than I was of her and just wanted to get away from him.

He looked irritable as always, like he was having some sort of issue, but he did not look like he was capable of love or even passion, just anger and beating the pulp out of particularly short men. So when his head tilted at me and he smirked, I froze. "You." He rasped, "Bald-one."

"What?" I tried to look at him. Tried.

"The Stupid One. When is she going to be mated to that fool?"

I didn't discover jealousy in his voice. I was used to his nicknames for us. I was "Bald One", on occasion when he maybe liked me a little bit I became "The Bald One" or "The Midget," Bulma was "The Woman" or "The Stupid One", "The Loud One", "The Blue One", she was always a "The." Note how Yamucha was never a "The." He was a "that." Yamucha was "That fool" or "That idiot" or "That weakling." Gokou was just Kakarotto.

The word "the" just seemed to have more respect, liking behind it, but of course that's only apparent now.

"Er, in two and a half months..." I thought, frowning a bit. But I only assumed he was annoyed that because she only wanted to spend time with Yamucha, even at night, that she wasn't making his updates as regularly, and he was a crazed freak when it came to training. Maybe more so than even Gokou.

But he knew. He knew I didn't really want them to marry, he probably knew I wanted her for myself though I knew I would never have her. I didn't love Bulma, but the attraction, to both body and, oddly enough, personality, did exist. I wasn't really even hurt, it just didn't really sit quite right that he took Maron from me, and then he had to steal Bulma away from the world too.

From the start, though I didn't know the motivation until much later, I knew that he wanted to split them up, and even then I was a horrible person and I provided him with the details and information he needed, casually like he was actually my friend, and never once asked him what his ultimate plan was.

Looking back on it, I guess Bulma and Vegeta had something-maybe not exactly love, that lasted longer than anything Yamucha could've ever offered her, including what was supposed to be his love, so I don't feel as bad about playing the role I did in the downfall of the relationship. It in itself was inevitable, and besides, when all the cards fell I had nothing to do, okay, I had everything to do with how he found out.

But at that point, Bulma was already his slave. That's way later.

* * *

-**CL **


	6. Unfaithful Part 6: Kuririn

**Unfaithful**

I sighed and leaned back. It was a day of rest, or so it was supposed to be. Everything was going according to the way Vegeta planned.

All he made me do was give him information. Until this point, at least. That's it, I promise.

_Where are The Stupid one and that moron going?_

Why, they're going out to dinner. She should be back later on tonight.

_Does the fool intend on staying over?_

Possibly. He packed a bag, but as far as I know Bulma hasn't officially invited him to stay yet.

See, it was nothing that yelled out loud, "I'm going to ruin their wedding."

It was just stuff. If Yamucha wanted to stay over, they would be having sex. If they had sex, then Bulma wouldn't be working on his machines. If Bulma stayed out too late with Yamucha she would be too tired to work on his training bots.

I thought it just all went back to his desire to destroy my best friend. My _other _best friend.

Now, this is pretty awkward, seeing as even in that way I'm sort of off-handedly helping Vegeta destroy my best friend. But then again so was Bulma. And we needed him strong so he could kill the androids. After all it was merely information regarding where they were and when she'd be back and if he was coming back with her.

So leave me alone, conscience.

Anyway, it was supposed to be a day of rest. I was watching Bulma and Yamucha watch TV (or grope each other) and it was then that Bulma smiled and asked, "So are you excited?"

"Not really." He grinned, "Very."

"What?"

"Where have you been?" Yamucha poked me in the head, which I found to be offensive by the way, "The wedding?"

"Where was I when you did all that planning?" I pointed to Bulma, "And where was I when you did two and a half months of training?" I looked to Yamucha.

"I don't know. Talking to my buddy Veggie, maybe?"

I turned red for a second, thinking they'd really seen me talk to him, "Bulma, don't even talk like that. He's scary. He may just kill us if you keep calling him that." Their amused looks told me it was a false alarm.

"Well, I'm going to take her away from all that after we're married."

"What?" Bulma blinked, looking at Yamucha.

"Oh, well we hadn't really talked about this yet, but maybe after we get married we can move somewhere together."

"You can move in here with me."

"Bulma, I don't want to live here with you and your parents, and Vegeta."

"Why not?" She frowned, "My parents have always been very nice to you."

"That's true, but you'll be a married woman. Time to settle down, you know. Maybe even think about having kids."

"Yamucha, I'm the heiress to Capsule Corporations." Bulma sighed, "I have to stay here with my lab. I have a job."

"I'm supposed to be the provider, though..." Yamucha trailed off. "Couldn't you just... try to give it up for a little while?"

She stared at him, "Yamucha... You're talking about me being a housewife? I'm a genius. I have so much more potential. Don't ask me to waste it."

"Okay, okay," He looked disappointed, but he didn't want to fight with her, not the day before the magic happens, "But what about living here? Please, just try and compromise with me. I just... I don't. I don't want to live here, Bulma. Not with your parents and especially not with Vegeta."

"I can understand you're afraid of Vegeta, but what's wrong with my parents?"

He turned red, "I am _not _afraid of Vegeta, and they're your _parents._"

"So? Oh, I get it, you're afraid they're going to interrupt us while we have sex. You know they won't. They don't now, so why would they then?"

"But Bulma!" Yamcha whined, turning red.

"And it's so... you to think of yourself and your sex life."

"Look, Bulma, I love you and I'm not going to back out of this marriage... But please try and consider it."

"How inappropriate. Just go, Yamucha." Bulma crossed her arms over her chest.

He sighed and stood, "So you're not going to tell me you love me back?"

"Just go!"

* * *

So he went his way, and I was headed out but Vegeta stopped me. "What is it, Vegeta?"

"Why was The Loud One yelling now?" He looked aggravated.

"She and Yamucha got into a fight over something stupid." I closed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, "I guess I'll have to bring him here tomorrow so they can make up."

"The mating ceremony is tomorrow."

I blinked, "You're right. I guess I'll have to bring him over later on tonight. About what time does she finish updating your machines, Vegeta?"

"After midnight. But tonight she _won't _be in her laboratory."

I wish I'd gotten what he meant. But I was half too scared and half trying to figure out how to get them to stop being children. "Okay then. Tonight after midnight. But where do I take him?"

"I'm sure she'll be outside of my Gravity Chamber. There are some things she has to set correctly."

I wish I understood. But it went over my head. So I waited for the moon to come out full and large in the pitch black night, and I brought Yamucha to the designated area.

I didn't really want them to get married, and they didn't. And maybe I did get what he was saying and I just ignored it, because after it all happened, I felt guilty and I knew why.

Because I didn't want them to get married, and doing what Vegeta told me to do and hinted at... I can try and make myself innocent, but I know the disaster that occurred that night was as much my fault as anyone else's.

* * *

-CL


	7. Unfaithful Part 7: Doctor

**Unfaithful**

She loved him. I swear she did, she did, she did; she loved him and her love was pure and true and... no, it wasn't.

The truth is that she didn't know how to love until her heart was broken. She cheated on him. Ruthlessly, and I'm not just talking about that little Vegeta incident.

Oh, she cheated on him. She'd stopped a long while before he'd proposed, but she had a history. Once a cheater, always a cheater, I suppose. But Yamucha was no innocent. I wanted to believe that she loved him, and I guess I wanted to believe she'd found a decent young man to love so much that I overlooked his infidelity as well. I left them to their own devices, I guess.

But the truth is here and I won't omit or overlook any of the facts because she's my daughter, and because I could've loved him like a son. It could've been wonderful, I swear. But they couldn't.

Oh, Yamucha needed my daughter. Very much indeed. Even now he makes passes at her from time to time, shows a lot about his character, I suppose, that he would have the audacity to flirt with Vegeta's wife, mother of his children and cooker of his food.

Maybe it gives Yamucha some sort of sick thrill to smile kindly and shower the woman he couldn't tame with gifts and such silly things. I am of the mind Vegeta doesn't care, and my daughter is better off with the alternative. He either doesn't notice or care that Yamucha still loves his woman.

Oh yes, that night. Is it necessary to set in pretty words for you romantics, you sadists that find a poor young man's pain to be delightful in the most delightfully twisted way? You know what happened. They were having sex.

One minute, she was my daughter and I was the only man in her life. And then as I stared darkly down the window to the blood red glow of the Gravity Chamber, I saw that she is no longer my daughter and I felt like I truly understood what I had done. It was like I could just reach out and suddenly it all made sense, and suddenly I could feel every mistake with her I ever made and this event was just her screaming out to me that this was all my fault, and when she lost Yamucha, I shouldn't say lost, when she _gave up_ Yamucha, that night, I could swear that that was my daughter giving up a part of her life.

Perhaps I should blame myself like her dear mother does. But I don't. If I failed as a father, I don't feel it could possibly be a direct or indirect cause of such actions. She is by far too independent, by the time he was fourteen she had her own set way of thinking. Nothing was beyond her. So I won't be so arrogant as to even bother think that she didn't know what she was doing, or that it's my fault for not teaching her better.

As her employer, as her father, I could've been there more often. But it was no mistake, no, I don't believe it was a mistake at all that Bulma met that Gokou and got mixed up with all that mess. I quite like Son Gokou. Perhaps a bit-simple, uneducated, but he would've made a fine husband for my daughter. Anyone but Vegeta.

I'm stalling, aren't I? I hate thinking about that night. Of course it's no surprise, a sort of unjust punishment that is self-inflicted, that there is not a day since that I cannot remember seeing my daughter and Vegeta. Together. And I sit at my computer desk, and I frown and I rest one hand on my chin, and the other idle with a cigarette burning, and I think, _there was nothing poetic about it._ There was no love, no compassion, and at these times, I tell myself, I do, "Maybe that's what she needed."

To not feel loved. I say aloud, to myself, alone in my own coldlaboratory, "Maybe she's scared and she wanted to feel nothing." Sort of a final claim to her independence of mind and body before she gave herself to Yamucha.

But, ah! No. Of course not. You'll say, "No! No! She loved him!"

I know better than you do, I promise, but you won't believe me. After all, I am her father. Only her father. My daughter is not capable of loving. At that point, anyway. She had to know what it was to give everything to someone, unwillingly and willingly at once, and then have it ripped from behind her. My daughter was one of the poor, sad few that needed to feel the pain of heartbreak first before realizing love.

I am a scientist. I am not much of a romantic. But I acknowledge the ordeal as best as I can from afar.

I think it would just about break my heart to learn that my daughter loves him. Every day, I think, "It's out of obligation." And a good part of me wants the man she decided to go run off with to be anyone but Vegeta.

So Yamucha didn't work out. How could she cheat on him? Cheating is a dirty business, and I never much cared for it, never much understood it either. She didn't want both of them; she wanted Vegeta. So why keep Yamucha as a treasure pet? He asked her for her hand, and she accepted. I am not so sure when the affair began, no one really knows how things like these start (except of course sadistic Vegeta, he who knows all), not even Bulma herself; and I am not so sure I want to know. But I do know that my daughter is not above cheating.

How could such a woman, so refined at one instant, be so...

Bulma isn't a bad person, but sometimes she can be a very selfish girl.

Maybe one day I'll tolerate his existence. Perhaps even become fond of the lad.

A sigh, I give up. I can't talk about the night. Yamucha, he was a kind boy. And my daughter hurt him, and it is a pain he lives with every day. She is my daughter, and I will love her forever, but it is she that will have to answer to God when she meets him, and I do hope it will not be soon. It is she that will have to tell God, "Yes, I slept with another man, my fiancé saw us, and my mother saw us, and my husband's best friend saw us, and my father saw us, and I did it because..."

* * *

-**CL  
**


	8. Unfaithful Part 8: Doctor

**Unfaithful**

Of course you're still here, you want to know what happened, you want to know just how he got hurt, just how Vegeta captured my daughter's heart, just how it all seemed to be planned out.

Looking from the outside, I'm sure the entire thing fits in perfect and neat. She'd complained of having some dreams of Vegeta a long while before this happened, and then of course the dreams went from sour to sweet and maybe that's where she started her silly thoughts that Vegeta could be domesticated.

He's a Saiya-Jin. I should know, I updated his machines until he started demanding that Bulma do them. At first I supposed he was doing it to annoy her, and I feel guilty-_how can a father not see a man trying to seduce his daughter?_

Because if he is capable of flirtation, I would suppose that's what it was. He always treated her differently, for better or worse, and if he lived to destroy Son Gokou then eventually he hid it, and maybe she was a silly little girl and thought that he was training to fight for her.

You know, he wasn't even present at his own son's birth. She didn't seem to care very much, though I must say she did seem particularly upset that Son Gokou somehow hadn't reached the news that she was of child and apparently the man didn't even meet little Trunks until they were about ready to deal with that whole androids business.

So where was I? Oh, yes, yes, my daughter and Vegeta. How did they come to be? Well, I'm telling you, you fool. He romanced her. Or at least that's what I think he did. You see, Vegeta is a very clever psychopath, and he always stood out.

It started with little episodes, that were actually really rather big episodes, the two fussing at each other, she would be shouting down the stairs and he would be following her with his arrogant little stomps; he would be fighting to stand up and she would be shouting that he needed to rest; and then of course there were always the kitchen episodes where she would be ready to eat something and he would promptly grab it from her hands to aggravate her. She had never been particularly possessive, at least not over food, but this little-game they played with each other was intense.

I don't want to recall exactly how intense it got because this is not to emphasize the great lust they obviously felt towards each other.

He was a man, I'm sure he's older-or at least he looks it, and he had probably ultimately been without female companionship in a very long time.

So of course, what better than to sleep his way into Gokou's good graces? No, I take that back, I do. I know for a fact that Gokou probably had very little to do with Vegeta's actions, at least where Bulma was concerned. He didn't seem to be particularly pleased when Bulma found out she was pregnant.

I was there.

_Her face was pale as she sort of slumped down one stair to another. I was sitting next to my wife, who was of course watching some silly little program. She was holding my hand and I was counting down the time until I had to regretfully tell her that it was indeed time for me to turn back to science._

_But the look on her face was quite, quite startled, and after all the fuss that I'd thought had died down, I frowned to see what it was. Did Yamucha call her? Had Vegeta broken her heart?_

_Well, what was it? A part of me sighed, waiting for the bomb that she was about to drop._

_"Momma." The word forced my wife to tilt her head in her direction and bless her heart, she too could vaguely sense the trouble._

_"I'm pregnant."_

_There was a dull crash, and Bulma turned her attention to the doorway. Of course, who else could it be?_

_So he invaded my house, ate my food, used my resources for his own selfish needs (pah to this saving the planet business, that's Gokou's job, it is), and he slept with my daughter, and I wanted to split into a horrible rage because he had just broken a vase that I was really quite fond of._

_His energy spiked. He didn't even have to touch anything. That is how destructive Vegeta is. _

_"Vegeta, I'm-"_

_His angry glare cut her pathetic tone off. He did not seem to be quite capable of feeling sorry for her, of course she seemed to be doing a good job of that for herself._

_I stood. Vegeta probably didn't look at me, but Bulma did. "Of course you're not keeping -it-, right Bulma, dear?" _

_It was obviously not the right thing to say. Vegeta turned and left, he seemed uninterested in the conversation, uninterested in Bulma now as well, and Bulma was left to look desperately at her mother for help, "I don't know."_

_Part of her seemed to be more afraid of Vegeta's reaction and his little quiet rage that would probably be by far worse the second he got to talk to her alone. She shook her head, "Yes, I don't think I have any other choice but to get rid of it."_

_My poor wife looked crestfallen, for she had begun to babble about baby showers and gifts and parties and nurseries and such nonsense. She rested her hands on her hips and mumbling in a teary tone, she exited to mope about in the kitchen._

_I was left to stare at my daughter. All I could think of saying was, "Do you see what this has done?" _

_"We can fix this, right?"_

_"Of course, you'll have to get rid of it, it's got that maniac's blood in it, you could possibly die giving birth to the little creature. Think of what you would be releasing into the world, Bulma. I can fix this for you, but nothing will ever be the same."_

_She seemed to sink into the couch._

_No, nothing was ever the same._

_

* * *

_

-**CL **


	9. Unfaithful Part 9: Doctor

**Unfaithful**

Bulma seemed particularly mopey the next few days. She refused her meals and kept to herself in her lab; she walked carefully and quietly about the house like she was waiting for a bomb to fall. So she hadn't spoken to Vegeta yet, I figured. She seemed pale and dazed, she wore unflattering clothes and left her hair in a dirty, greasy pile on top of her head.

I must admit, though aggravated and this sudden change of mood was quite predictable (though a tad over-dramatic, might I add) she was still, and always will be, my daughter and of course I was to take it upon myself to be the stable man in her life. Recall that at that time I had blamed myself and the lack of role in my daughter's life for this entire mishap. I figured I could sort of prance in her lab and suddenly it would come to me; and quite naturally, with no practice or experience at giving pep talks and lectures and inspirational speeches before, I would become the model father-figure and make all of those nasty little problems go away.

What father wants to see his daughter pregnant? It is the sign that she is sexually active, that she's given herself to another man. Men are very, very primitive creatures (though not to the level of the Saiya-Jin monkey prince) and there are two ways we claim our women: as our wives, and as our children to guide and care for. Naturally, the thought of a father knowing his child, even if he had not really taken a great part in the "guiding" and "caring" processes, had been taken by another man was disturbing. Bulma hadn't been a virgin for many, many years but until now it was a fact I could quite easily dodge and avoid, it was something that would not come to haunt the very back of my skull every time I saw her.

My wife was angry that we had come to the conclusion that the child must go. Yes, I resented her as well, for while my parenting was absent, hers was practically devoted to turning Bulma into the little temptress she apparently came to be. Bunny always wanted grandchildren, and as soon as Bulma was old enough to have them, she enthusiastically taught my daughter the secrets of the woman: charms and beauty, flirtation and the way to walk.

Of course it was foolish to even bother think this was more my wife's fault than my daughter's. My daughter developed her own, independent personality and with or without assistance from her mother, I maintain that the result would've been the same.

Somehow I've come to figure that Bulma set her eyes on Vegeta just the same as he did on her.

So Bunny pouted in her room while Bulma thought deep in her lab, what to do? What to do? She'd agreed to the abortion, but she still seemed troubled. I approached her, "What's wrong, Bulma?"

She was staring out the window, her little pale hands limp; her face hollow with sinking shadows under her eyes indicating her restlessness. She sighed and looked at her chest, "He hasn't talked to me in days."

Suddenly, I considered this to be way too much information. She so willingly opened up that I almost wanted her to put a halt to the conversation and perhaps yell at me for even trying to become the white knight in her life so abruptly. Still, I sat in a free seat. It was fairly far from her desk, but she wasn't really paying much attention. I tried again, "Does it matter? Bulma, he's a monster." I found that it was quite easy to insult Vegeta, so I continued, "He's no good. You know the only reason he's bothering with this androids nonsense is to abuse your friends' trust. He's planning on killing them all, don't you even care?"

Bulma looked hurt and it was then that I realized I'd broken some sort of rule: I accused her of something while she was feeling down. Indignant, she ordered that I leave her lab. Her voice was mature, but her tone icy.

I shook my head, "Now, Bulma, you know this is true." I found I'd said her name far more times in that hour than I had in the past two years, "He's a menace. It's not your fault," I soothed, "But he is ridiculously dedicated to this insane training, and if he doesn't destroy his body first, he will annihilate your friends, and what'll be left of us then?"

"Don't you even care? I think he's going to kill me." Her eyes were watery as she stared fixedly out her window. It wasn't until I approached that I really ever noticed the window was facing Vegeta's training chamber. Its angry red glow from the gravitation simulator's energy reached my sight, and as though suddenly stirred by this new idea, I felt glad that she was not trying to defend the man.

I could handle my daughter being a victim, but an accomplice? No, no I would not have such a thing, not in my house, not with a man like him. I sat down and rubbed my head. To be honest, the idea that Bulma could be in danger because of Vegeta's irrationality had occurred to me, but though I knew and quite often referred to him as a killer, I hadn't really assumed that he was going to try to kill my daughter, "We could send you to your friend's. You'd be safe there..."

"I'm a grown woman, Dad. I'm not going to flee my own house."

"Well then, what do you expect me to do? Let him stay here? Let him kill you? You just said that you think you're in danger and yet you want to make no action? There is nothing we can do right now but ship you off to that friend of yours, that Son Gokou's house. It's just a little bit shabby, but I suppose we could send money to fix it up a bit. Or maybe it would be best for you to lay low for a little while..." I rattled off.

She sighed, shaking her head, "No, Dad. I'm not going to bother Gokou with this one. I'm just... not. I need to talk to Vegeta, that's all."

"The man that you think wants you dead." I flatly added. Of course she should make no sense, she was shaken up, she was paranoid, perhaps (though the accusation did inspire great fear for her life on my part) but she was still just babbling. I figured that over the course of the next few days I could gently nudge her to go stay with her friends.

Asking Vegeta to leave was of course, out of the question. Easiest way to anger him and have him kill us all, and now after that whole incident Yamucha and Kuririn wouldn't be present to go find the stronger members of the team to protect us. Reaching the Son household without one of the two was generally impossible. One had to actually physically travel to the cottage in the middle of nowhere to speak two words with the Son family. It was quite ridiculous.

I considered going to them myself with our problem, and maybe they could find somewhere else for the Monkey prince to go. But still, she sat there, staring out the window and I figured that she was trying to clear her thoughts, to cast her mind back to happier times when she was with Yamucha and Vegeta was far, far away and the world was content. And I was still skeptical, thinking she truly was still vying for Vegeta's attention instead of fearing for her life.

She nodded, "Okay, you're right." She's a sensible, good, logical girl when she wants to be. I felt manly with her giving in so fairly easily, and I straightened my back, "I just need to talk to him first, and if I think that there's any danger either he leaves or I'll contact Son Gokou. Alright?"

I shook my head, "It's out of the question, Bulma, it really is. I don't want you talking to that man any more. I don't want to see you looking out that window or in his general direction, stop feeding him, stop worrying about him. Let him kill himself in his little Gravity Chamber, it'll do us all more good with him gone."

And the fight dragged on, and I fell. Even though it had never been established, I knew that there was not much I could do from keeping crafty Bulma and clever, maniac Vegeta from having this talk that apparently she felt was necessary.

* * *

I found that I couldn't rest easily that night. I decided that I needed the walk, although a bit lengthy, from my bedroom to the far kitchen to clear my thoughts. I could've easily ordered something from one of the bots, or maybe it was deep inside my mind that I needed to sort of inspect the house.

Of course I found as I walked past one of the halls just above her lab, as I gazed out the great window into the starry night, what else would I find? She was standing there, hugging herself because it was a cold, windy night and he was standing opposite looking aggravated. I couldn't see their facial expressions, just gestures that implied that at least she was talking in a soft, hushed voice.

They were bickering about something, and she seemed to be trying to get him inside. I sighed as the two bodies finally started to move towards the door. A little panic washed over me, after having watched what was, I supposed, an intimate discussion between the monster and my daughter.

But still, I followed.

Vegeta, for one that seemed to like attention and viewers up until now, looked towards my general direction. Bulma's gaze followed, and awkwardly I managed to get myself a drink. I debated a sleeping pill, but the last thing I needed was to be so asleep that I couldn't protect my daughter if I had to. It was silly and futile to bother think that my being asleep or not should play much of a role in the entire issue, if he wanted her dead she would be dead and there was really no getting around that fact even though I tried.

I exited. I walked slowly. He seemed to know that I could hear them, clever devil that he is, and I was left to uneasily sit in my room, watching the wall while she forced him to eat and they had their oh-so crucial discussion.

* * *

I didn't see Bulma the next day. I was called for an emergency meeting practically across the globe. Naturally, I was told to expect a social event. What else was I to do? Take my wife and go, tend to the company I had spent my entire life building and strengthening? How convenient for Vegeta.

A moment of bad judgment swayed my opinion. She was still alive, I knew that much, so I figured she would be safe. I called Krillin, feeling it was fairly inappropriate to all Yamucha, and told him that I wanted them both to stay at my house until I returned. They had full access to my training equipment if Vegeta would share, as long as they made sure that they could get to Gokou if they needed to.

I didn't tell them that Bulma was pregnant. I didn't feel it was really quite important. And for that, I exposed Yamucha to his second great, intense hurt and I will forever feel guilty for it.

* * *

-**CL **


	10. Unfaithful Part 10: Bunny

**Unfaithful**

Now, don't let my daughter get you confused, she became all about the baby after Trunks was born.

For all of her tough talk about not wanting to be a mother or have a family, I have seen Bulma evolve with her son. And yes, even her relationship with Vegeta. I even remember later days when Trunks was a baby and Vegeta brought a nice young man, also named Trunks (curiously?), to the compound. I served them tea but when she barged in later that night, she cried out his name and examined him, fussing over him. I didn't miss the look on Vegeta's face. It was something like jealousy and agitation.

He must have been just a little bit annoyed that Bulma made no fuss over him. This goes to prove so many things about women. Bulma, as a mother, finally understood a different type of love far purer than anything she would ever feel for any man. The love a mother has for her children, it can be a very overwhelming sort of love.

Tell me about it, Bulma was no easy daughter to raise.

Trunks still, I admit has been a lot harder, or testier, with his father's strength and all. Still sometimes I hear Bulma shriek, "**GOTEN! TRUNKS! Not in the house!" **And then, the inevitable cry, "**Mother!_" _**

I rush in the room with goodies on a platter, humming a little bit, because what else is a grandma to do?

"Grandma!"

"Bunny!"

The two boys are bouncing around, grabbing little cakes and stuffing their faces excitedly. Young Trunks gets the idea of throwing some cake at Goten. The little boy smirks in return and soon icing is everywhere. "Oh, my." I say, eyes wide at the extent of their boyishness.

"Great, Mom," Bulma says, cigarette lit, eyes rolling the same way they had when she was in high school. "Way to go, giving them sugar like that. That's really all they need." She's kind of ignoring them, but gesturing at them at the same time.

"Hey, Mom! Betcha anything I could hit Dad from here!"

Bulma's eyes widen and before she can say anything the door swings open and the cake leaves Trunks' hands and lands flat on Vegeta's forehead.

Vegeta, handsome as always, how nice it is to see you.

* * *

Maybe a mother indulges herself when she says that she believes that she thinks she can spin her daughter around just the right way. But I just had to try. You can't blame me really, can you? Think about how cute Trunks was as a baby and tell me that you blame me for trying to convince her that her father had lost his mind. A great blessing had literally _fallen _into our laps and he was trying to ruin _everything! _

"Bulma, you can't do it! You just can't!" I tugged on her arm, "It's alive, and you really can't-" My eyes are tearing up. I'm flailing my arms about, my heart is pounding, nothing matters more than this moment.

I waited for my husband to leave and then I trapped her, alone in her lab, before our trip out.

"Mom..." She says, a little patiently, eyes still downcast at something she was reading.

"Just go and-" I continue, still too excited to stop.

"Mom..." She says again, looking at me with a slightly amused lips playing on her lips.

"Because I mean a baby in the house is just exactly what we ne-"

"Mom, breathe." She patted my shoulder, "You're going to give yourself a heart attack. Goku died of a heart virus in another timeline, you know." At this she sort of half-giggled.

"What?" I ask, confused, but continue, "Promise me before I leave that you're not going to get an abortion. Really, Bulma, that would be just terrible because I would really love to be a grandmother!"

"Okay, okay." Bulma holds up her hands in self-defense. I put my hands on my hips and look closely at her. These are no laughing matters. "I wasn't going to tell you this, and you can't tell Dad."

"I promise!" I chirped, waiting eagerly for her to speak with a little clap of my hands.

Bulma sat down on a consultation couch in the lab, "So I talked to Vegeta last night, and-" We talked down here more and more often as she became involved with Vegeta. Still I made the mental note to get her out of this cold, dark place as much as possible. I always needed a lot of time out in the sunshine, but Bulma or her father. I didn't think it was healthy that her father spent so much time in his lab, either. So alike were those two. It's kind of remarkable, and it's not just Bulma's smarts.

Their stubbornness comes to mind immediately, when thinking about my husband the good doctor's current opinion of Vegeta (because before this he quite liked him) and on virtue of this, baby.

"And you two got back together? Oh, how wonderful!" I'm so excited about this.

She laughed, spoiling my excitement. "No, no, Mom."

I look at her quite seriously, for she seems to not know what she's missing here, "Honey, he's a _man. _I mean, a real _man. _You're not going to find one as strong and focused and handsome as Vegeta is for miles around." I put my hands on my hips, "And you got him once, so why don't you get him back?"

I can't help but feel like she's letting Vegeta get away. I would have made a full blown project out of managing to obtain Vegeta, but not my pretty, stubborn daughter. No, she falls in love with Vegeta _despite _herself. She falls in love with Vegeta when they're arguing over her machine updates, when he makes fun of her about Yamucha and then flirts with her quickly just to pull back. Vegeta may be an alien, but he's still a man, and it's his personality that she's fallen in love with. This is why this is so hard for her to admit.

She also finds herself completely incapable of acknowledging the good aspects of Vegeta. Again, so much like her father. She can't see the very obvious good, she's so busy looking at the parts of him that are complex. She doesn't see a man with savage determination and strength anymore. But then again, I'm not really sure _what exactly _Bulma sees when she looks at Vegeta.

Bulma flushed a little, "So anyway, even though Dad thinks it's the best that I not keep the baby..."

I let out a squeak to sit by her, grabbing her hand. We huddled together as she prepared to tell her secret, "Yes, yes?"

"Even though he wants the best for me, I talked to Vegeta the other night and asked him if he wanted me to get rid of the baby and he was even angrier with me for suggesting that than he was when I told him I was pregnant." She sounds a little curious when she says this, and I take the opportunity to jump in before she can say anything negative.

"Of course he did! Vegeta!" I clasped my hands together in joy, closing my eyes good-naturedly. Suddenly, I look at Bulma, and clarify, "That's because he loves you, oh, if you two could just get over those stubborn little heads..."

Vegeta must love Bulma back, it wouldn't make sense if he didn't. It's as simple as that, but Bulma doesn't understand these things.

Bulma shook her head, "Well I think it might have to do with a lot of other things."

"Nonsense, men love to know that they're going to be fathers. Why would he want you to have an abortion? You'd be killing his child, and men can be so proud of their children. Especially their boys. Oh, I hope it's going to be a little bity baby boy. I wish I had a boy." I sighed. "Just think! Vegeta would be so proud of him, like Gokou is of his son!"

Bulma hesitates, looking at me like I'm crazy for a moment. Slowly, she says,"...But anyway, the good news is that you can start thinking of where you want to put the nursery."

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" I clapped my hands with joy.

"I think I'd want a girl." She says, suddenly, finally. She clasps her hands together with decision, as though she's willing her body to be carrying a little girl.

I lean back on the couch, in thought, "A girl? Girls are a lot of fun, too. You get to dress her up in cute little shoes and dresses and bows, and then you teach her how to put on makeup and how to curl her hair around her finger and flirt, and you'll be there for her first love and her first boyfriend and her first dance, and you get to share secrets in the dark and eat fudge together when her boyfriend breaks up with her, and you can just talk sometimes and you can go out to lunch together and eat cakes and..."

Bulma leaned back as well, "I wouldn't want her to be so feminine. Or boy crazy. If I had a daughter, I think I'd want her to be very smart."

"Darling, smarts don't get the men." I rested a hand on my hip. "Besides didn't you run off to go hunt the Dragonballs and wish for a boyfriend?"

"No!" Bulma said quickly, with a blush, and then continues, "Well, the world isn't all about getting men, you know. No, I'd want her to be really involved in science and technology. I don't think I'd want a girl that was boy crazy or too girlish. Like that Maron girl." At this Bulma shuddered.

"Who?"

"Uh, no one, it was Krillin's girlfriend for a while and she was just awful." Bulma crossed her arms over her chest, looking upwards with a bit of a sigh, "But a daughter. I think that I'd be really strict about dating so that she would always study."

I raised a brow, "What do you intend on doing, then? You were awfully hard to get under control when it came to boys. Remember all the times Yamucha snuck in at night and your father had to-"

Bulma's eyes widened in sure horror at the high school memory, "Mother! I just think it'd be nice to have a very independent girl. I want her to be self-sufficient and bright. That doesn't necessarily equate to anything else." Suddenly she looks at me straight on, "Also, it's so weird to reminisce about Yamucha."

I crossed my arms over my chest, "Well then _Grandma _will teach her how to curl her hair around her little finger."

"ChiChi understands how important studying would be," Bulma said a little, but slightly defeated. "What do you think I should name her?"

"It should start with a B." I nodded.

"Why?" She frowned.

"It's tradition."

Bulma sat up, "Exactly. I want her to be really unique."

"There are a lot of very unique names that start with a B."

"But I want her to be independent. If I have a boy, I want him to have a cool name, though. Like S-"

"No, I don't think that's a good idea. The men always name their sons."

Bulma laughed, and flicked her wrist a little indifferently, "Like Vegeta will care. I said he didn't seem to want me to have an abortion, not that he was prepared to become the father of the year. Can you see Vegeta as an affectionate father?"

"I think if you had a son, it would be a great thing if he were a lot like his daddy."

"That's an awful idea!" Bulma stuck out her tongue in distaste.

"Well, you liked Vegeta enough to go to bed with him and now you're pregnant with his-"

"Mother!" Bulma said, crossing her arms over her chest hotly. "And I don't understand why you say that, anyway. Vegeta is crude and disturbed, Mother."

"You still love him." I pointed out.

Bulma bit her lip, "I think if I had a son it would be really cool if he were more like Gokou, or something." She says this with a bit of a shrug. Like she's saying something really important but she doesn't want me to really notice. I can always tell when my Bulma is testing the waters with her momma.

"Don't let Vegeta hear you say that."

"Really, though. Not nearly as naive, but I think that maybe if he didn't end up so serious..." Bulma cups her chin in her hand and rests on the arm of the couch. She's lounging, trying to seem bored. "He would certainly be happier."

"So are you going to let him fight like Chi let Gohan?"

"I guess it's not like I'd be able to stop him. But I won't allow it to be his entire life. I mean, it is going to be in his blood. I imagine if I have a boy, I won't really have much of an heir to CC." She blinked, "Unless the girl would want to fight too. _I _wouldn't want to train." Bulma looked in thought for a moment. "I kind of wonder if it's going to be more Saiya-Jin or human."

"I think that Vegeta can be awfully crafty. If the baby were like him, he could handle the company and have his little fighting hobby on the side."

Bulma sat up, "But I mean, Mom you still know that we can't hide this from Dad forever. Still, you can't tell him for a little while. He's got to focus on his trip and you know he's already really uptight about having to leave Vegeta and me together."

I pouted, "I don't see why he has to call Krillin to come over and babysit you. You and Vegeta just need some time alone... And I'm sure you can still get plenty with him even after the baby is born! I'd love to babysit!" I smiled happily at the thought, another baby around the compound! How wonderful.

"Mom, I'm not sure how good my child is going to be with you around, and I mean that with as much love as possible." She says this with a half smile and a 'heh.'

"What do you mean?" I blink a little bit, confused.

"I just have a feeling you're going to be the worst sort of enabler ever." Bulma looks at me with this knowing smile. It's getting wider and wider as though she can see into the future.

"You just worry about Vegeta." I say, returning with a bit of a wink.

"Well Mom, I mean Vegeta is still not entirely happy with me.. " Bulma looks uncomfortable for a moment. She stares at her hands and plays with her fingers. She is intent on avoiding my gaze.

"Of course he is, he just doesn't want you to know." I put my arm around her shoulder a little bit, ready to comfort her. "But we can't wait to tell your father forever. And you know I'm no good at holding in good news!"

"Not everyone thinks this is good news, Mom. A lot of people think I've really messed everything up this time." Bulma's blue eyes turn a little bit sad upon saying this. She reaches up to touch my hand.

"Bulma," I say looking at her carefully, "We can't help who we love."

"Mother," Bulma sighs, breaking from my gaze and my embrace, "I just don't know about that."

I look at her, trying to check my temper no matter how much she tests me, "Vegeta does love you, you know. There's got to be something about you that he thinks is really special. He chose to have a child with you."

"What, proximity?" Bulma practically sneered, bitter and hurt. She's hugging herself a little bit, hands undoubtedly on the little thing growing inside of her, "I don't know about that, Mom. I just don't know."

* * *

"I don't see why you have to have them come over to watch her." I'm steaming mad at him, and he has to know it. By the time that we get back from this trip, he had better change his attitude about Bulma's baby _and _Vegeta.

"Vegeta is a menace and I won't have the two of them alone." The doctor is straightening his lab coat in frustration, "He's just lucky I can't kick him out!"

This is going to be a very long trip. I sighed heavily and continued humming as I fixed my hair. I'm trying to ignore him and his nastiness, but he's been really getting into it lately. It would be comical if this wasn't my grandchild we were talking about here.

"Well, you're in an awfully good mood." He commented from over a cigarette.

"Well," I shrugged, trying to not let Bulma's secret come out. "I don't think we've been out in a while."

"Now, don't you let this become some time for Vegeta and Bulma to make up. You know they're not a couple and they never were. Bulma loved Yamucha and a night of bad judgment is what's landed her in this mess. Maybe we shouldn't go at all." He crosses his arms around his chest with some sort of finality.

"You know, I don't know what you have against poor Vegeta." I said, looking at him from behind a lock of blonde hair.

His eyes bulge out a little bit, indicating his outrage. "Bunny! Vegeta is _awful_!"

"I don't see how. You said yourself that you think that that boy is amazing, dedicated-"

"Yes, and also have I seen him be cruel and terrible!" He's puffing on his cigarette heatedly now. "That's exactly why I think that Bulma needs supervision, and maybe we should stay!"

I practically jumped out of my seat, "You've got to go, you already said you would. You have_ both _of them coming anyway. How awkward for poor Bulma."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, poor Bulma." He crossed his arms over his chest, "I just don't understand what got into her head that she thought that getting together with _that boy _would be a good idea! The night before her wedding of all things!"

* * *

"Oh, my! Vegeta!" I cry out.

"Boy!" Vegeta growls, carrying out something like his nickname for young Trunks.

Trunks kind of grins at him and waves, "Betcha can't catch me, Dad!"

Vegeta shakes his fist, stepping forward in a menacing way that makes Trunks giggle with glee and skip away while Goten shakes a little bit.

Bulma steps forward with her eyes sharpened. "You leave him alone! It's not his fault that your ugly face ended up on the receiving end of his cake attack."

Vegeta wipes the cake off his face and icing shoots to the floor. A vein is popping out of the side of his head, poor man can probably barely handle the stress of playing father to young Trunks sometimes. "Bulma," He nearly shouts even though she is feet away, "The damned boy insists on provoking me and some day I'm going to take him to the Gravity room and _really show him-"_

_"_You won't 'really show him' anything, Vegeta!" Bulma puts her hands on her hips, "Now go get cleaned up while I order dinner."

Vegeta stands there, eyes locked with Bulma. Vaguely do I notice that I'm only holding the empty tray of treats by a single handle and it gets a little icing on my jeans.

"Mom, go take Trunks and Goten upstairs and clean them up too." She says, without looking back at me. I drop the tray and hold my hands out. Immediately both boys take them, smiling at me, knowing at those words that everyone won and now Bulma was left to tame Vegeta.

"Trunks, you're crazy!" Goten giggles over a cupcake as we head up the stairs. I shoo them along to Trunks' room, and hear Goten chirping, "I would never try to get _your dad _mad the way you do!"

I'm inclined to agree, but like mother, like son I suppose.

As I was lingering about, I managed to hear them so I looked over the corner to watch the two below. I couldn't exactly see Vegeta's face from over the corner, but I could tell he was still standing there tense as ever, angry to be undermined in front of his son. It all happened so quickly he hadn't had that much time to react. Door, open. Cake, face. Boy, Woman.

"Besides," Bulma says, spinning around, swiping a little bit of icing from off of his chin and the bottom of his lip with her finger and sticking it in her mouth, "I kind of like it when you're a little bit sweeter. It may just be an improvement, Vegee-ta."

* * *

Something like a note: Okay, so upon reading this I've always sort of wanted to clarify that this chapter does not reflect my views on abortion, misogyny, or family dynamics. If anything this, along with most of my stories, should be seen as satirical (because DBZ doesn't treat the ladies very kindly, you guys). Bunny just wanted grandkids and I see her as a bit of a traditionalist. Thank you.

-**CL**


	11. Unfaithful Part 11: Bunny

**Unfaithful**

We went and we came back. Vegeta? He's gone. Gone, gone, gone. And my daughter, she's sad but she doesn't want to show it.

It's been very quiet the past few days. Except for...

"My, my, isn't it just wonderful? Can you smell the clean, Vegeta-free air? No monkeys in my house, not anymore!" He stretched and tilted his head towards the window to examine the crater just outside for maybe the millionth time. "With any luck, he ran out of fuel and just exploded into a million itty bitty pieces in space." A cry of glee.

Bulma watched, her eyebrows were knitted like the talk disturbed her, but a small smile across her pale lips expressed slight amusement. She didn't say anything, and no matter what she didn't look at that window.

"Honey, don't you want some cake?"

"Oh, Mom..." She sighed, "No, I'm not quite feeling up to sweets."

"I think," I winked, "That you should come keep me company then. I get so lonely in this house, you know."

Again with a confused, amused smile and she sat up. "Dad?"

"Yes, Dear?" He sang out.

"I think Mom and I are going out to the city for a few hours. She wants cake."

"Alrighty!"

And as we left, we could still hear him singing another rendition of his new favorite song, 'Vegeta's Gone and Dead.'

* * *

"I don't think he could really want anyone to actually die, Dear..."

"Oh, Mom, I don't worry about that."

I raised a brow, "I know you think you don't, but it upsets you. Why don't you contact him? You were able to talk to Gokou on that other, older model."

"I don't think it's a good idea, not until I know why he's gone."

"He got cold feet, of course. All men do it..." I frowned, "It's just most men don't tend to leave the planet."

Forced smile, "No, I think maybe he is angry at me for something."

"Well, whatever for?" I rested my chin in my palm.

She pushed her cake, barely a bite taken out of the pretty thing, to the side, "Do you think he'll come back, Ma?"

"Oh, sure." I beamed. It seemed like it'd been forever since we spoke like this, to be honest. When she started travelling, I no longer got to talk to her so often. "Haven't you read that article? Men are just like rubber bands, they snap right back, it says. And you know what? They do! They can't leave a good thing for a long time, just long enough to realize that it's good and they want it back before suddenly it belongs to something else."

"How can you refer to women as being possessions, though, Mother?" She seemed slightly exasperated, heavily resting her hand down by her plate.

"Darling, all men consider women to be possessions in one way or another, you know that."

"It's not like I'm just a toy for him to come back to, and it's not like I'm sitting here waiting for him to, Dad's right! Maybe he should just die out there!" She stood. Just like her father, she always says the meanest things when she's worried, hurt, or angry. "It would be a whole lot better for the baby, and for me."

* * *

She's so set on being a big woman in a man's world sometimes. I admired the fact that she was a combination of beauty and intelligence, but she obviously lacked tact. For a good few minutes I sat there with my cake and hers and I mourned the fact that she seemed to lack the ability to control her emotions long enough to think things through like any woman should.

Then, I got up and I left and she was standing outside the restaurant, she looked like she wanted to light a cigarette, but didn't. She was sweating, making angry, jerky movements this way and that and I laughed.

"What?" She spat, throwing the unlit cigarette to the ground.

"You." I took her by the arm and we moved together towards nothing really important.

"Maybe I should go back with Yamucha, Mom. It's not like it'll be really hard to get him back."

"No, no it wouldn't be." I shook my head.

"Maybe we could get married and have a family together just like he wanted."

"He did ask you to marry him..."

"And think of how happy Gokou and Krillin would be for us, and how many friends we could all invite..."

"A lovely white wedding..."

Her face was pale, "Yes, with a big cake, a huge one."

"A chocolate one."

"No, strawberry."

"With little roses on top..."

"Think of how lovely that would be, Mom..."

I nodded, "But Darling, you don't want to marry Yamucha. You could get him back, very easily, but he would never treat Vegeta's child as if it were his own. You were with Yamucha for years, but now that silly childhood crush is gone. You gave him a very special part of you, and he needs to learn to be satisfied with that. If you promise him your future now, then think of the miserable life you're setting up for yourself."

Buruma sighed, "I'm not saying I love Vegeta, Mom, because I don't. You know that, right? I really don't love him."

"Maybe you don't," I said calmly (because I knew she did, she must), "But the fact that you were with anyone when you'd already promised Yamucha you would be his wife means that you don't love Yamucha."

"Well, what if I got cold feet?"

I raised a brow, "Darling, did you think about Yamucha once on those ni-"

She flushed very red, "Alright, fine, hush about that already."

"Maybe you were just looking for a way to get out of your marriage with Yamucha. I mean, you knew that eventually Yamucha would find out."

Buruma looked different now, like she wanted to agree, but instead she just said, "Mom, you watch too many soap operas."

"It was actually a romance novel, Dear."

"Oh, Geez..."

"But listen, she didn't want to marry the man that she thought she loved, and so she slept with his rival, not to hurt him, but to damage the relationship beyond repair and she let him sail to Europe alone while she stayed home,"

"And then married the rival."

"No, she never saw the rival again and married a butcher."

Bulma groaned, "Mom, I don't really think we need to talk about this."

"Why not? Can't you tell your mother of all people why you slept with another man so close to your wedding day?"

She blushed, "I don't know mom, Hell, maybe I just wanted to? Maybe it just seemed like a good idea at the time and we didn't really care about weddings or lack of weddings or who I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Maybe, just maybe we just wanted sex."

I blushed. "Yes, that happens too, but I still believe you have feelings for Vegeta."

There, the store we'd been making our way to for the past half hour. "Come on, let's start looking for furniture. Have you figured out where you want the nursery, Mom?"

"Oh, yes. But we'll have to wait to know if it's a boy or a girl, because I want to paint it."

"Well, we'll shop around and brainstorm for both boys and girls..."

"That's a wonderful idea, Darling. I was thinking about rainbows and unicorns with that lovely beautiful golden pinkish color you see at dusk if it were a girl, with little roses on the bottom and pearls and a lagoon with mermaids on one wall..."

* * *

**-CL **


	12. Unfaithful Part 12: Bunny

**Unfaithful**

I felt sorry for Bulma. No matter what happened, what anyone did, she only seemed to become more withdrawn. Especially after her father found out that she was indeed keeping the baby.

"You can't do it, Bulma! It's absurd! The child will be half-alien, half-monster, and what happens if-"

"Dad, I have to keep this child! It's not about Vegeta and I, it's about the fact that-"

"It most certainly is not about your relationship with Vegeta! You know damn well that he doesn't-"

"Damn you, just listen to m-"

"Love you and you know that you don't-"

"And why can't you just understand for once that this is not your-"

"Love him and you know full well that this child could be a menace! It's dangerous, Bulma, dangerous! And what if you can't handle the-"

"Choice! Dad, this really isn't your choice! You have no right to be butting into these sorts of affairs-"

"Affairs! How long had you been sleeping with Vegeta before Yamucha found out-"

"Oh, you're really one to talk, Dad, it's completely irrelevant and you're not going to make me-"

"You have got to get rid of that child! What if it's evil?"

"And what if Vegeta kills me for killing his first child? Huh! He was absolutely furious when I told him that I'd been considering abortion!"

"Bulma, I know full well that you're not scared of Vegeta and you're just protecting-"

"I'm not going to-"

"It's not even like you're in love with Vegeta! It's not like you're going to marry him or start a family with him, and it's not like he loves you! I don't even know _why _you would want his, this **thing **growing inside of your body!"

* * *

Shouting shouting shouting. Oh, my. I sighed a little bit. Bulma'd been fighting for days over the topic. I wanted to intervene. Vegeta is very much marriage material, and give him a little bit of time, but I knew with certainty that they would eventually marry and they would become a family.

They both struck out at each other, but she seemed tired and unwilling to fight most of the time. But she was still fighting, fighting to keep the child, and I could not hide my obvious irritation with my husband. He would come into the room, I would huff, tilt my nose up, and leave.

He seemed very isolated, but he would not give up on the idea that Bulma should give up the baby. Our grandchild! But that's not what he saw. He saw Vegeta's child. No matter what, Vegeta was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Bulma was getting quite large, moving was hard on her. She had a very small frame for all of her fuss, and it was getting hard for her. That was when I saw Yamucha coming up. Part of me frowned, thinking that he too would try to convince her to have an abortion. And once again, I stood outside of the room to listen in on the conversation.

"Bulma.."

"What is it?"

"Do you love him?"

"No."

Lie, I thought. She was having his baby. She had to love him.

"What happened to us?"

"You know exactly what happened to us." Her tone was icy cold. Like she had a reason to be angry at him.

"Look, I know you're pregnant with Vegeta's kid… and I just want you to know that I do want to be your friend and here for you. He sure as Hell isn't-"

"Why does this have to be about Vegeta?" She snapped, "Why? Huh? Vegeta hasn't done anything at all! I wish that everyone would just shut up and leave it alone! Stop talking about him, I don't want to hear it! He's gone, and he didn't leave because of me or because of the baby, Vegeta left because he wanted to go train!"

"Bulma, I'm sorry. It's just a shock to everyone. We were all so sure that you hated him."

"And I do. I hate him very much."

"I really, really want to believe that." I could hear him standing up, "Look, I just want you to know that I'm extending a hand of friendship to you right now. I won't be your best friend, especially when he comes back because maybe I am bitter and maybe I am jealous and I just can't believe that you let him fog up your mind bad enough to let things happen the way they did."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? You know how he is-"

"He humiliated me, Bulma! On the night before I thought that our life, OUR life as a real couple would begin! That child should be mine," Yamucha got very quiet for a few moments, "But it's not."

He left. Bulma looked pale, as though she was on verge of tears. But she didn't, because she's too much like Vegeta to do that.

* * *

A few days later, Krillin showed to see her. We all knew that the child would be along at any time now. "Heya, Bulma."

"Is Gokou going to come?"

Krillin sighed a little bit, "You know how he is, Bulma. He's training so hard it's nearly impossible to even find him."

She clinched her fists a little bit, "Fine. Who needs a best friend, anyway."

"I know. He's my best friend too-uh, look, Bulma.."

Krillin sounded like there was something quite wrong, but Bulma stared on, a tad bit irate, "Yes? What is it?"

"I just want you to know that… I'm, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Why?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"No, what is it? Something's been up with you."

"I just... I know you didn't want kids."

Bulma didn't believe him, but she stood with difficulty. "I'm going to go grab something to drink. I'll be right back, Krillin."

She ran into me listening in. I perked up immediately, "Oh, Bulma, Dear!"

"Mom," She sighed, but she looked good natured. "Keep an eye on him, will you? He seems a little bit… strange."

The second she was out of earshot I hear a soft thump, as though Krillin'd punched a pillow in frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I took him to see you guys. I knew he was going to catch you guys in the worst way possible but I did it anyway. Because I was jealous. It's easy. Just say it... Just..."

He didn't tell her.

* * *

And finally, our very own prince arrived. The labor was long and hard. Bulma seemed to be in constant pain, but I was only allowed to fret several rooms away.

She was shrieking. "It's killing me, dad! It hurts… so bad! Oh my god... my god..."

_Very much to our surprise, it was four days later that Vegeta returned. _

* * *

**-CL **


	13. Unfaithful Part 13: Bulma

**Unfaithful**

Sometimes, when you've loved someone for a long amount of time, you start to just assume things. Like, you assume you're going to marry him and that you'll be happy and perhaps somewhere along the way kids will come if they're supposed to and they won't if they aren't, you assume you'll be happy because it's been literally decades and if he's still here then we must've done something right... right?

It's not like I just ran into his arms, you know.

You begin to just assume things. Assume that because you're comfortable, you're happy. And at the time, I think I truly believed the two to be one.

Oh, do not worry. I have myself come to pay a price. He will not acknowledge our child. I think that it's just his pride, now. He doesn't want to feel tied down to a family, he doesn't want to feel weak or like he's obligated to do anything for anyone other than himself. I know that he's too selfish, and in his way too immature, to possibly be able to handle a family. I was too, but I was not in the position where I could walk away and so I stepped up to the plate.

I think he loves me, but then again I will never tell him that. He'll likely tell me, stupid Earth woman that I am, that it was about sex and nothing more. At this point, to be frank, it doesn't matter anymore. In retrospect, I've come to agree that I would do it over again if I had the choice.

Is it really about making a right or wrong choice? Is it really about the fact that he may or may not be the best? Arrogant Bulma and her prince. Something about the couple works. And I can remember, when Yamucha first died. I was devastated, flooded with memories. I mourned, I really did. And sometimes I think that after he died that first time, part of me shut down. Clearly, not on the outside. On the outside, as far as my friends and family could see I was still moody, irate, some could even say arrogant (though I prefer the term competent) but from the inside, something had been damaged and it was not until I began going head to head with the arrogant prince that I would feel something rising back inside of myself. Aware of everything. Aggressive.

_Running. Running as fast as I could to the Gravity Chamber. It was dark, after midnight. That's all I can really remember. It was too far away, it felt like I'd been trying to get to him for an eternity. "Vegeta!" I shrieked through my breath, "Are you insane?"_

_And then I was pounding on the GC, the door suddenly opened. I almost fell on him, unwarned and unaware of the abrupt motion. He was standing there, glaring at me with intrusive eyes blazing and furious. He was impatient. I was gasping for breath. "What is it you want, woman!" _

_"You!" I shouted before I knew exactly what I'd said. I didn't mean it that way, I was so angry, so absolutely infuriated that once again he had ignored me and gone back to that damned training to defeat my best friend that I'd actually ignored his question. Even so, he seemed impressed with himself (cocky bastard) and almost taken aback. He seemed to smirk into himself, looking down at me with eyes that went straight from severe irritation to... something surprisingly playful. This was the look that I got when the Saiya-Jin no Ouji decided to humor me. _

_In later months, I guess I could call this 'flirting' but to be honest, at the moment it seemed like an extension of his arrogant facade. This was the first time that he had actually addressed the idea of an "us" or, excuse me, not an "us" but the idea that at some point we would have sex. _

_"I know that, Woman, why. are. you. here?" He spoke slowly, deliberate, sarcastic. I blushed a ruby shade, unable to look at him so I immediately threw my head down. You have to understand: the man is absurd. He was absurd, he is absurd, and it's more than likely that he will always be absurd. It's almost obnoxious-as a matter of fact, that is exactly what I was thinking: **why you obnoxious monkey prince, you come into my house, you use my resources, eat my food, sleep in my beds, and you have the audacity to turn around and mock me! **I will admit that sometimes I get... angry, so angry that I do things that could be considered "reckless" like extending my fist and trying to make contact with a certain prince's chest. Of course, he didn't even blink. His hand caught my fist. It wasn't a rough grasp, but it was controlling, warning. I loved that about him. That warning growl deep inside of his throat. It was unnerving, but all the same the fact that he seemed to be this forbidden fire that I was permitting myself to touch, it gave me my own sense of invincibility. _

Give me a man. Give me someone with some guys. You know, you can only know someone as daring and powerful as the crowd that I know without starting to get bored with everyone else. _  
_

_The first thing I noticed was the fact that his hands were warm. And then, there was the fact that his hands were... bare. This was odd, for the most part Vegeta had always worn those gloves of his. But now, his fingers stretched out to apply enough pressure to the bones of my wrist to let me know that he was not going to let the grip loose for a few more seconds, I felt those tingles in my body. Everything was suddenly awake and paying this silent, intent attention to Vegeta angry in front of me. What are you going to do about it? What are you going to do to me? Deer in the headlights syndrome, perhaps. At any rate, although to me it seemed to be this great heroic deed to just be standing in front of him, in all reality my body had frozen and a feeling of dread crept slowly, cruelly over my abdomen._

You see, as time passed I had learned that fearing Vegeta only fed his ego. It was almost cute, he could be something of a show off. If you gave him a reason to flex his muscles, then he would do it to see you cringe. He seemed to want people to avoid him, to fear him and therefore to leave him alone. How lonely he must have felt, and he isolated himself: completely, totally. Except for me. I'm not so sure how I became special in his eyes. But I guess you could say that from the point that he became my house-guest, he had been something very special in my eyes.

He was mostly an irritation, like a child I suddenly found myself having to take care of. Did Vegeta eat today? Has he slept this week? My god, you need a bath! Would you let me wash that? What the Hell is wrong with you! Oh, you've broken the Gravity Chamber... again. Let me go out of my way to fix that for you before you have a temper tantrum. As far as our interactions went, it was more than apparent that there was something really wild about the both of us. I'd like to think that that contributed. I would not be pushed around by him, and even though he would let certain behaviors slide (such as screaming my head off at him) he did not let me conquer him. In fact, I think that in his own little primitive mind, he saw it as an invitation to start attempting to conquer me.

_I was shaking. He knew it, and this only seemed to heat his Saiya-Jin blood. Part of me registered the whole "thrill of the hunt" thing and opted to not act like anything out of the ordinary was occurring. But it was as far from the truth as anything else: Vegeta was touching me. Not 'caressing' or 'stroking' or anything like that. It was a raw touch. The possession in the grasp is what truly made the gesture, if you could call it that, apparent. "Vegeta, why did you leave the med lab! You know that you're nowhere near done with the rejuvenation, you idiot!" _

_There was little else that I could say. I'd rushed out of the house on a cold night because I was angry. I was angry because I'd stayed after to watch him, to oversee his recovery. I wanted to oversee his recovery because he didn't take care of himself (see: now). He wasn't taking care of himself because he was obsessed. He was obsessed because... I didn't know why he was so obsessed. Pride, I guess. That whole pride thing. I guess I understood it. Vegeta was a warrior prince, he was hit hard in his area of expertise and he needed to redeem himself._

His most crucial critic was and likely still is himself. Vegeta could never forgive himself for the lost fights. He needed the power, and it was more than to just kill Gokou. Yes, it was true, I do believe, that if he had the chance he would have killed Gokou. But I don't think that the entire thing was about killing Gokou. No, I think that the whole training to become stronger issue was over simply defeating Gokou. I think that if given the chance, Vegeta would have kept Gokou alive. If nothing else, I think that the fact that some time ago, Gokou had saved his life, the debt would have at least been repaid even if he did not consent to the mercy.

But I've been told by others, namely Yamucha, that I make excuses for him or assume things that I probably shouldn't assume. At this point, no, no I do not believe that Vegeta would really kill me. When he first came, even after our son was born, I always had that feeling that there was the possibility and I accepted it even though for the most part I fancied that the prince would not (although I can't say I'd use the words "could not") kill me. The louder I yelled, the louder he would yell back or growl or glare but it was not until that moment that he touched me.

_I was trying to pull my fist away from him, which he seemed to either like or find amusing. His smirk widened, he pulled his hand back ever so slightly until my knuckles were teasing his chest. I would for weeks dwell on this action, go back and forth from the irritation that I didn't want my hand to be touching his sweaty nasty chest and just remembering the way that it felt: hot, smooth flesh, perfectly chiseled out. Yamucha was built, it's not as though I'd never been around a muscular man before, but there was something different about Vegeta. His body was truly that of a God of War's. My eyes, despite everything, ran up his tanned body. _

_It was then that I realized that he had scars... everywhere. Some looked more recent than others. If I had managed to completely forget that he was being an asshole, cocky and crude, I would have felt sorry for him. I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I slowly registered that I'd been staring at his chest with lust in my eyes for a good few minutes now. _

_He growled a little bit, though I'm not sure why. His teeth scintillating in the darkness, he released my hand, turned, and the door slammed shut. I bit my lip. It was obvious that I'd lost that round. _

I guess this is where it started. The challenge was issued, and I was furious. I stomped back to my room, blushing madly. I was grateful that for once Yamucha was not there. I didn't need to see him at that point. As I sat in my room, the clock barely hitting one thirty, I sighed and looked out my window. There he was. The gravity chamber. I could see some odd, blackish flash through the only red window, and I assumed he'd disregarded the last encounter and went back to that rigorous training of his. Absurd! I scoffed to myself, but I could not get to sleep.

Some part of my mind lingered on the fact that Vegeta had _really_ just exhibited some sort of claim over me. I was to marry Yamucha, but this seemed nearly irrelevant. To be honest with you, I was mostly confused. I'd assumed that the angry prince hated me with some deep, intense passion. And then, the blush came back. Vegeta did that to humiliate me. He wasn't flirting, he was trying to humiliate me.

I growled a bit at the thought. I most certainly would not play his game! Or... my lips tugged into a grin. Perhaps I would.

* * *

_It had been a while since that happened. Things slowly reverted back to the old way, while I never really forgot the way this his hand felt on mine, that controlling grip, the desire in his intense eyes perhaps more captivating than the action in itself. We went back to our regular fighting routine. Vegeta, why haven't you eaten? Vegeta, what the Hell is wrong with you? Vegeta, you're absolutely insane and no, you can't kill Yamucha so stop trying to intimidate him._

_As I was working quite diligently on one of his broken training bots, I realized that I'd indeed become some domesticated house woman. He really did have me cornered: I was constantly after him about his own well-being. He'd made some snide comment about it in our morning bout over breakfast that I had become insignificant these days and tended to only work for him. I was in such a state that it no longer mattered exactly what he'd said, the fact that he'd connected me to that of a housewife, when I was a great scientist and inventor, my inventions a thing to marvel at, respected across the globe, I'm gorgeous, and he was right: for the past several months he had become some twisted part of my routine. Vegeta became my life without even having the dignity to make it known to me. He would come before everything except myself most of the time._

_How could he? The question drove me mad. I threw the bot to the other side of the room. It didn't make a dent, but it did convey my anger, at least to the onlooking wall. I decided that I would take a shower, go do something nice for a change. Something for me. The steaming, soapy water relaxed me. It gave me some time to think, about a lot of things. And by a lot of things, I mean Yamucha._

At the time, I think I really assumed I'd loved him. Like I said, there was this solid sort of contentment. Yes, he was just a tad bit stupid, not in a cute, Gokou-naive sort of way, but in the no common sense, constantly asking obvious things-it was irritating, but he was sweet when he wanted to be. I'd figured that at some point we were to get married. When Gokou first came back, Yamcha mentioned it constantly. That incessant nagging soon got the better of both of us: I was getting irate, unwilling at the time to think about it when I had so much work to do to make sure that this androids business would be a success (meaning Vegeta had already destroyed the chamber for the first time and I had my hands full trying to fix it) and he was starting to think more deeply about the idea of a forever-sort of us. He went out playing around, the nerve of him!

So yes, Yamucha was unfaithful and don't ever let him tell you that he wasn't. We'd moved on past that time, though. We got back together, clearly, and there was a silent agreement that we were both just too busy to think about that whole marriage thing. In those months, I had missed him, though. It's not that he wasn't always there, but he was training or playing baseball, or he was eating or glaring at Vegeta, he might have been present but he wasn't with me and as I washed my hair I battled a sudden sense of desperate loneliness that I hadn't known since his death.

I'd worked so hard to get him back on the damned planet, and now it seemed that I never really had time for him, or we never had time for each other, or something was in the way of us being alone-like my parents, or Vegeta. I sighed, but I pressed the depression to the back of my mind. What I really wanted was a real romantic night with him. I closed my eyes, sinking back into the water. Candles and roses, an unmade bed, soft, warm... his lips trailing down my shoulder. An x-shaped scar on his cheek, _handsome like the scars on-_I jolted upwards. _Vegeta. _

I can't say that this was the first time that Vegeta had entered my thoughts when I was trying to think about Yamucha and I. Especially in dreams, he seemed to always show up there. He was a great kisser, by the way. _Again, I was turning red. But it was then that I also actually heard Vegeta's raspy voice booming over the door. The door actually seemed to shift with every strike of his fist. "Woman! Woman!" He called out, which was something of a nickname for me, I guess. I could never get him to stop calling me that._

_Even so, I responded with the default, "Hey, Stupid! My. Name. Is. BULMA!"_

_"Where is my contraption!" He hissed through the door, "You don't have time to be-"_

_In a fit of rage, I stood from the bath. Bubbles foamed about my body, but even so I was entirely naked. I didn't really mean to open the door. But I did. He was ready for a fight, barring his teeth and standing there with that irritated look on his face, until he saw me. At first, his look turned smug and he seemed to think I would become embarrassed. Fat chance, I can say with some sort of pride that after my childhood with Gokou, I haven't got much modesty in me. Even so, his eyes could not stay on mine. I chuckled to myself, typical man. They're all the same, Saiya-Jin, human. Prince or pauper, they are all complete and total perverts._

_I did feel a tad bit uncomfortable, besides suddenly realizing that I was freezing, the way that that desire flickered and the air shifted and the mood changed and it became tense in an entirely different way, and we both fell silent, I felt a tint of my cheeks. But I endured it, cocking my head to the side with some sort of haughty laugh, "Do you see something you want, Vegeta?"_

_"You stupid, vain little woman..." But his voice seemed different. Others could tell me that it was the same: raspy, threatening, somewhat outraged, but his sentence trailed off as opposed to ending with its usual bang of mutual outrage and demand. I saw the difference. The bubbles slowly began falling down my breasts, and the more he could see the larger the smirk grew._

_Vegeta'd seen naked women before, I knew that much, but I also know I got the exact reaction I wanted: some sort of mixture of confusion, desire, and that helpless embarrassment that he would have to endure. "Oh, well I'd figured that since you just can't take your eyes off of me that you just might. Now," I turned flicking my wet hair in his direction, "I have to finish my bath."_

_Words cannot describe the sense of accomplishment and victory that I felt when I slammed the door in the Saiya-Jin prince's face, that yes, I could see just the slightest rosy flush coming to rise on his cheeks._

* * *

And so the games began. It must have been some sort of ultimate insult to Yamucha. Vegeta was responsible for his death, and I took him into my house. The greatest sort of betrayal, to harbor my long time lover's greatest foe. And in all reality, I'd forgotten until just now, thinking about Yamucha and how many years later he would still rest his hand on my hip in Vegeta's absence, still give me that look, offering himself. Willing me to offer myself.

I guess that's what Vegeta taught me, some sort of cruelty. Cruelty of the mind, cruelty to the heart. Those were the days when I became increasingly selfish, and the only thing I could think about was the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that Yamucha had dumbly trusted me, and even that he loved me so much that he would be willing to forgive me, and I was off with the dark prince. Sex with Vegeta was truly like exploring some new, forbidden realm. Intense is the best word I can use to describe it: he's so very focused. And all the same, the pleasure that I felt when I could feel the purr deep in his throat, or the way that his tail would possessively wrap around my waist or my ankle, the way that everything seemed to revolve around me and the way that I seemed to revolve around him when we were intimate, it was a feeling that I became addicted to quickly.

I know, normally I would be irritated. _I'm not some toy you can claim, you monkey prince! _But this, this was something about needing to feel that desire. Vegeta had this way about completely and totally conveying his passion and desire. He needed control, and he aimed for greatness. Sex was an extension of this aspect of his personality. And yes, knowing that every step I took would hurt Yamucha, as he so rarely let me forget, eventually came to give me some sort of tingle, of pleasure when at first it filled me with an awkward sort of guilt.

I was unsure why Vegeta mentioned Yamucha those nights. At first I'd considered the idea that he was jealous, but it was soon that I saw that he had absolutely nothing to be jealous of. He was single-handedly destroying the very foundation of our relationship, and he was making damn sure that I was constantly thinking of him. It was true, he became something of an obsession to me. It was hard to think of much else. After some silly fight, I went out with Yamucha. He did something that surprised everyone: he proposed. I was filled with this great affection for my old lover, old boyfriend, old friend. The idea that we could marry, settle down, at some point have children or do what happy, established people do.. it seemed to have its own little allure. Just something simple, no more fights or pain or anger. No more battle for control or going at each other like wild animals. No more Vegeta.

I said yes.

Of course I did, you know that much. And in those times after it, when Yamucha was over it again, perhaps it was to make Vegeta jealous or perhaps it was to make him pay attention to me or realize that he was quickly losing what he had claimed as his own, but the sex with Yamucha started again, I was as affectionate with him as I could be whenever Vegeta was even in implied earshot. I wanted him to know that he was losing to the weaker man. And also, yes, it's true: I was battling these mixed feelings, somewhere there was a desire to really go through with it. The time was upon us, I'd assumed that I'd marry him, so when he asked, why not accept the proposal?

But in seeing Yamucha, I was breaking one rule. In accepting the proposal, I'd defied Vegeta and his claim of ownership on me, and in sleeping with Yamucha, I'd broken the most sacred rule: _You are mine and mine alone. _

He'd warned me about it, so I suppose we could say it's my fault that it happened the way it did. I suppose that in my own carelessness or anger or hurt or desire to hurt Vegeta, I figured that he wouldn't do anything about it. It became somewhat apparent that I was practically a walking get-out-of-jail-free card. He let me do virtually anything I wanted, and he would growl or get closer to me, push me against doors or walls (and it would for the most part end in sex after that period had started) but he never actually hurt me. It made sense to assume that nothing really bad would happen.

Sex with Yamucha, I cannot say it paled in comparison to Vegeta, and I cannot say it didn't. There was something more emotional about it, clearly, so afterwords we would snuggle, kiss, hug, actually fall asleep in each other's arms. If we spoke, it would be to speak of how we "loved" each other. After we began sleeping together again, Vegeta made a comment when we were alone for the first time that I reeked of Yamucha. We stopped speaking to each to each other. This is the part where I sort of sigh.

I missed him.

I really, truly missed Vegeta. The games and the pleasure and the sick feeling in my stomach, the attention and his body and the way that his lips felt on my neck, his voice and his grunts, I'd come to miss Vegeta in a way that I'd at first regarded as just physical desire. To my dismay, it was much, much more than that. This was the first time I truly accused myself of being in love with our favorite prince. But we'll get to that later.

* * *

_Hours had passed and I didn't see my vegetable. I honestly did lack much else to do, though I would never admit it to him, so I began working on his training bots once more. I'd virtually cleared my schedule for the man: the only thing I ever really did was work on his things and then tend to my poor, dying social life (Yamucha). There was the occasional meeting for Capsule Corporations I would attend to keep my father happy. _

_He was very disappointed, although whether it was in my resistance to take over the company or his inability to retire for a few more years, I'll never know. I would take over, we both knew that, but I know that he'd been hoping I would sooner than later, and since my trek to Namek it became apparent that I had a larger picture to look at. Another reason why the idea of a child was very bad for me._

_It must have been getting late because the normal bustle and noise about the labs was reaching its minimum. My father had probably gone to bed. The thought of bed seemed more than a little enticing. I yawned. When I looked over my fingers, however, I let out a gasp and I could not hide the flinch from his keen Saiya-Jin eyes._

_He was standing there in the doorway, smirking at me. I slid the screwdriver to the side and then immediately crossed my arms over my chest, "Vegeta! What are you doing, you're going to scare me to death!"_

_The prince didn't say anything at all. Nothing. That was what scared me, because Vegeta always had some witty comeback, something sarcastic or vicious, anything that would convey his general dislike for everything that wasn't... himself. And finally, "Unacceptable." Inwardly, there was this panic. I'm too young to die. I'm too pretty to die. He's really going to kill me. He's cracked. I'm too rich to die! I'm supposed to be on next month's cover of some business magazine! I'm a celebrity in the world of science and business! I'm respected! I'll call Gokou! They'll kill you and bring me back with the dragon balls!_

_My mind was racing. Fear had taken hold of my entire form, my windowless lab, a pitch black hallway behind him. All one could see was my dim little desk. I could see him approaching, that too. I swallowed. His handsome face seemed distorted with an unrecognizable mixture of anger and something else. It was almost lecherous, the look in his eyes. _

_He approached, closer, closer. I made some odd movement to get up and run, but he caught my wrist effortlessly. "I have lost my patience with you completely and totally..." _

* * *

One thing I discovered: Vegeta is the most lonely prince you will ever meet. I will never really tell him that I think he's lonely, because lonely is a word easily associated with weak and he could not bear to be considered that. But I know the truth: Vegeta's thirst for sex was only some sort of more masculine way of his mind and heart and soul telling him that he was in some desperate need of companionship. We didn't really ever... talk. About what? A conversation was a fight, and that's the way that we both liked it. It made things easier, put each of us in our place. There was time for touching, and then the other portion of the day we went about it hating each other. It's sad, the things that the prince would do to validate that need for companionship. After all, everyone needs someone else. But maybe I am being romantic.

* * *

**-CL**


	14. Unfaithful Part 14: Bulma

Unfaithful

Part 14

"She's very pregnant, you see, and very distraught that _the father _has left. She's not remembering things in a linear fashion. She's not crazy or anything, she's just reacting to this bizarre pregnancy and severe emotional stress, social alienation of a sort. She's stressed out. She may seem disoriented. Be gentle with her. She cries sometimes, randomly. She gets very angry and throws things. She acts erratically. Try not to remind her of _him _or of _what's happened._"

A cough. Paper moves. They're writing things down. "I'm very glad that you're still here, to support her, you know."

"Well, Bulma's been through a lot." I could hear them shuffling about in the nursery. As if they owned the place. As if they had any place, or any right. My blood boiled, but maternal instinct gave me tact.

Somebody sighed, or scoffed. "Bulma's created a lot of negative situations for herself, with her own two pretty little hands."

I swallowed and touched my abdomen. Their judgment sank deep and heavily into me. Condescending and overbearing, as per usual. I'd destroyed my life.

"I'm just saying that you're turning into the reliable sort of guy that a girl like her needs, anyway. You could really do something with this whole situation, if you want. That baby could really build a bridge between you two, Vegeta's gone now. So what? We have that baby and Bulma to protect now."

"Has anyone been able to get a hold of Gokou?" Someone suddenly asks.

Silence. A sigh. So it's one of those situations. I turn my nose up in anger. Get on my tip toes, look through a crack in the door and try to see the three of them, mulling around there with my baby's life in his nursery.

I felt heavy, but stable.

There were three of them. One was my father. Yamucha. Kuririn. My hand was pressed against the door directly. I could feel him, my little baby. It was a weird sort of feeling, like someone finally understood me, and the messes that I got myself into.

I sighed inwardly a little bit. _Well, little guy, I guess that's what I get. _

I felt a little swirl of energy, as though my body was trying to cheer me. I shook my head, _Daddy's going to try to get us back together. I will never try to dictate who you date or sleep with, kid. Even if it's an alien, or whatever. _

_But not if she's poison for you, okay? Then I'll say something. When the line is crossed, I'll say something._

_When people start getting hurt, I'll say something. You'll do it better than I did. Because when lies start being told, you'll know better than I did. _

_It won't consume you the way it did me, because you'll be stronger. You won't fall for it like I did._

_To think that I was so naïve. _

_

* * *

_

The way that he moved in my eyes could only be described as poetic. There was something insanely passionate and fierce about Vegeta, but all the same it was dangerous. And callous. However menacing, there was that intelligence and almost cold, clear cut dedication to perfection that drove him, ever apparent in his every movement.

Fucking Vegeta, man.

Watching him train drove me insane. I guess it can be said that this is the way that everything truly started. If you want to hear the romantic side of the story, I cannot offer you date nights and flowers or other futile cliché attempts at courtship. I cannot do anything but say it felt like having a rockstar living in my backyard.

I watched him a lot. Sometimes I would just sit around watching him, crushing on him. It was weird. I was always more fascinated with him when I was angry with him. The way I felt the day that I noticed the difference in the way he acted when he was angry with me. Watching someone when they're alone and they don't know, or don't care, that you're watching them gave me this little peep hole into his life.

At some point, I always watch his blood pump. I watch the sweat roll down his body. I said it was maddening to watch him train. Why? Because I would fall in lust with him every night and fight with him all day. And I think the bastard knew it.

It wasn't long after the bath incident that he seduced me. Or he didn't care. He did it in much the same way that he trained, though. Calculated, cold, systematic. It started with a confusing touch that lasted too long. One that signified his possession over me. He was on to me, he knew that I wanted it and I was the only one there still stupid enough to fight the attraction.

Infatuation, even.

It was our dance.

"I don't understand why that loser is still hanging around with you." Vegeta sneered.

I bent over. He stared at my breasts. "It's cute that you're jealous like that, Vegeta."

These are the only times that I recall to be something like our couple time. These were the times where thins seemed to be easier. Deducible. Simple. He wanted me and I wanted him but I was only pretending to be unavailable and he really was.

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm just saying that you're so completely useless as his wench because you spend so much time tending to _me _that I don't understand why you don't just let him out of his misery."

I sighed deeply, biting off the cap of my pen as I prepared to write notes down for updates for his machine, "You know, Vegeta, I never can tell if you want to get rid of the competition or just drive me crazy."

"Both." He rasped quickly, and in annoyance and frustration I stood up. Before I could knew it, I fell straight into his trap. He was standing in front of me, ridiculously close, glaring down at me. "You're a silly little woman and someone needs to put you in your place and teach you how to play nice."

I glared at him. He leaned in. His teeth were sharp, scintillating in the darkness. I could almost see my blood on them.

"I'm really sorry to disappoint you, Vegeta, but I wouldn't be surprised if Yamucha comes knocking on my door any day now, ready to marry me. And love me forever. And we'll have a family together, and I will be too busy fucking Yamcha and bearing his children to be bothered with you or your little toys."

It seemed like the days when I used to boast about the prospect of our engagement were so long ago. Entirely before he proposed, anyway. Those were the days I lamented it.

He seemed so disgusted at the thought that his grip on my wrist tightened dangerously. At first it was slow, but with every word his grasp constricted around my wrist more harshly.

"You're hurting me." I hissed quietly.

"You are mine and mine alone." His grip loosened, but I could not pull my arm away.

"I have a boyfriend, just because I _fuck you sometimes on the side _does not mean I have to give up the one good thing I have going for me here!"

In a fluid motion, he sank his teeth into my neck. I almost howled in pain but he clasped his hand over my mouth. I moved to rub my wrist. His hands were on my shoulders. In my fury I lunged at him and scratched his face. I slapped him and kicked against him as violently as I could, and still he mostly laughed at me. I could tell when I'd hurt him, he would always hurt me back much harder. "I'm much, much better than that human trash…"

"I'm a human, too, Vegeta! How does it feel to be the last member of a dead species? You can do nothing. But Yamcha and I will have a huge family and we will love each other always!"

"You have no idea what it is to procreate! You have no idea what it is to take pride in what you produce, your selection process is so obviously flawed…"

* * *

"I think that Vegeta did it on purpose. I think that he wanted to get her pregnant. And I know that he wanted Yamcha out of the picture."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you didn't know. You can't control Vegeta's madness."

"But Bulma and Yamcha belong together and now she's pregnant with Vegeta's baby…"

A female voice, "Vegeta and Bulma could have had something too…"

"No, no Dear. It's for the best that Vegeta won't be here when Bulma gives birth to this baby. Yamucha is going to be here to support Bulma. How does that sound now, Dear?"

"I don't know… I think that Bulma loves Vegeta and-"

"Does that really register as acceptable to you? Vegeta is a monster, Bulma is very fragile now. She doesn't know which way is up right now."

"I'm pretty sure that she knows which way is up."

"Now Dear, I mean that Bulma's having a hard time differentiating between good and bad. Kuririn, take Bunny out for something nice to eat tonight, yes? I need to make sure Yamcha's all settled in."

There was shuffling. I moved. As they came through the hall I plopped down on the couch and grabbed a book. I smiled weakly at my father. "How's it going, Bulma?" Kuririn asked.

"Now that I have two full time body guards? I feel fantastic."

"We're just glad we get to use all that cool equipment."

"Just be careful you don't hurt yourself."

I must have said the wrong thing. My father's face darkened.

Krillen tried to scoff a little bit, "Bulma, we're pros. I think we can handle whatever scary training stuff you managed to make up. Yamcha did it in the past."

"That's highly sophisticated technology, it5 is not a toy! Don't go messing around with that material without knowing what you're getting into first. You're of absolutely no use if you die before you can come back. And with things as they are… Gokou's going to need all of the help that he can get."

Bunny and Kuririn moved out of the room without further comment, although Bunny gave Bulma one last, sympathetic glance. Bulma looked down and touched her abdomen, feeling a connection with her mother for a moment before she searched herself for her son's presence within her. Her father'd already managed to sit down by that point. He was smoking out of his pipe. "Dad, that's not good for the baby."

His eyes widened as he realized what he was doing. He disregarded his pipe and matchbox. "So," He coughed, embarrassed, "Yamucha is moving in. And Kuririn's not too far off."

"Dad, I really resent that you're _paying _my _ex boyfriend _to move in with us here to 'watch' me."

"Nonsense, Bulma, he's your fiancé."

"I'm not going to marry Yamucha, Dad."

I said that with way too much finality. Yamucha'd approached us from behind. I had no way of knowing he was standing behind me, except for my own good common sense telling me that I should have expected as much.

When he looked at me, his expression was not unlike it was _that night. _His face was sort of twisted in disgust and confusion and hurt.

My father shook his head and looked on at Yamcha. Then, he left the room, heading for the lab that I fucked Vegeta all night in for weeks.

We were left alone in uncomfortable silence. At this point I'd been getting used to it. He coughed and stumbled into a chair.

"You know-"

"Bulma, I really don't feel that down for a chat right now. But thanks for letting your dad know that we're not getting married."

I sighed.

"You know, I know that it may seem like I'm here trying to get you back. I won't lie and say that I don't want us to find our way back to each other. But that won't happen, and it can't until you get Vegeta out of your head forever."

"Yamcha, I don't love Vegeta."

"And I know that. I'd treat him like he was my own, Bulma."

The baby did not appreciate being used as leverage. I glared at Yamcha, "You didn't let me finish. You don't understand. I don't love Vegeta, but I also don't love you. Anymore. I did. Please believe me, I did, and I had every intention of marrying you-"

"Then why are you doing this, I just don't understand-"

"What happened with Vegeta was going to happen sooner or later to us. We're not meant for each other. The problem was us, not Vegeta. The problem was with you." I couldn't look at him. My eyes refused to meet his. They were so heavy with tears.

He solemnly stood up. "Bulma," his voice was harsh, "If you let me leave you, if you really, really think that… You will be," he was choking up now, "you will be making the biggest mistake you ever have in your life. We do belong to each other, Bulma. I guess we deserve each other in our own sick way. But you're being stupid right now. And you're trying to pretend like we don't. Like you can go run off with some Saiya-Jin just like _Gokou! _Yeah! Spiky black hair and muscles, that's all it really is to you, isn't it, Bulma?"

I was crying now. I was sitting now. And then he was hovering over me, almost menacingly.

"That's all this has ever really been about. That's why you insist on keeping this wretched abomination of a creature!"

My stomach was torn apart. The pain seethed through.

"It's not going to even be human, Bulma. It's going to be like Gohan, freakish in strength, but it's going to be mean like Vegeta. It's not going to have any morals. It's going to kill us all as soon as it's aware of us."

I stared at Yamcha, sniffling and horrified, "No, you're wrong. This baby is going to be my son, my child Yamcha! He doesn't have to be like Vegeta. Gokou proved that you can be better!"

Yamcha's eyes blazed at me, "This has always been about him, hasn't it?"

"What?"

"Goku. You've always loved him. The one you couldn't have, you're just a little too late for that one, aren't you? Just a little too old. Got to find the other version, don't you? Your silver medal, the second best. Yeah. Spiky black hair and muscles, and that's all it is to you, and when you found someone that could lift the heavier boulder you just couldn't resist, could you?"

"Goku has always been my friend." I shook my head, "You don't understand at all. I haven't even seen him since all of this happened!"

"You've loved him all of your life and now you found a cheap, mean replacement. And with your attachment to emotionally unavailable men, it's a convenient fit for you, isn't it?"

I shook my head. "That's not how this is, it was all a mistake Yamcha."

"Save it! You fed me that line long ago! I know you! I get how you think. You don't think I do, but I do. You just want someone to go slut around with. And who better, really? How better to get his attention, to stay in the spotlight? You can't let go of Goku, Bulma. Like you can't let go of Vegeta. But there's something you should know about both of them. Saiya-Jins are emotional cripples. And as much as you want to believe that they're good for you, and no matter how good it's going to feel when you finally get Goku to fuck you and Vegeta has to catch you doing the nasty out in front of God and everyone else, and all of that attention that you get, it's going to die out some time. Somewhere. Or their dangerous lifestyle will ultimately lead to your ruin, and the ruin of that baby you swear that you care so much about."

Every word hit me like a bullet.

* * *

Vegeta fucked me hard and good into the mornings, usually. At that point. When Yamucha found out, that is. He'd long since stopped allowing me to go and exercise with him in the gravity chamber when it was on. At the very start of it on he would love to taunt me. He would add almost no weight to my body relative to his strength, but his focus was on my struggle. How typical. For a month now he'd been fucking me out in the open, in my room and on the balcony.

I should have known. It was getting risky. We'd almost gotten caught twice before. I was also starting to feel more desperate for his touch. Something about him was invigorating, exciting even. An addiction I didn't want to stop. Just the way that he tasted… That was all I needed, my little fix before the day started. A few hours sleep, and then sex with him again.

Sometimes he would come in when I was working. I had a little control over it. If I wore something low cut he'd usually fuck me. Or if he liked the way that my ass looked in something. Heels, my hair was done. Sometimes he would come when I wasn't dressed up, sometimes he would purposefully leave me hanging when I was. It was all a game. Sometimes I would refuse him. It was hard to do. I was falling in love with him, and he just wanted to screw me all the time. "And then kill your best friends."

I could repeat the lines he would feed me.

It was cold in the a.m. when my then-fiancé found us going at each other in full force. The beads of sweat rolling off of my hair, the way that his hard body crushed against mine, naked and cold in the purpling night. There was something about the way that that cold beauty, the frosty plum color and all, seemed to make me feel so safe and secure. Or maybe that was all entirely Vegeta after all.

It was something of a cozy night. I took a shower and was hanging out in a towel. I sighed a little bit, snuggling into the warm terrycloth. Its bleached whiteness made me feel much cleaner. Purity you can only buy.

Vegeta approached me from behind. He was massaging my neck very slowly. He always started off like that. His touch was almost tender, but it was only because his hands were warm. He always liked to close in on you. Suddenly he would get rough. He yanked me back into his body. I could feel his erection pushing into me. "He proposed to me."

I felt Vegeta almost flinch. He stiffened. Then, very, very slowly, his fingers still circling my neck, he bent such that his lips touched my ear. I shivered at how his breath tickled. I paid so much attention to those words he said. "I wonder if by saying that you're trying to tell me that I can't enjoy you anymore."

His hands moved down to cup my breasts and I broke away from him for a moment before he caught me by the waist. I felt his smile in the back of my head. "Stop acting like you haven't been something of a piece of community property for a while now."

I sucked in breath. Serious now, I slapped his hands away and lazily allowed my robe to stay open as I rested my hands on my waist. "You don't understand anything! I'm trying to get married here, you idiot!"

Suddenly, Vegeta grabbed me by the neck and pushed me against the wall. My heart was beating so loud I couldn't understand what he was saying. I could only stare at his lips. And watch him breathe. He seemed to just be trying to get it out, a point I figured I already knew. I leaned into the wall, smirking a little bit at him.

I must have gotten under his skin, at least a little bit, because his eyes got very dark and he leaned in and bit me on the collarbone.

It was insanely painful, his teeth cutting through my skin into my bone. The way that I could see little bits of blood seep out of my flesh down my shoulder. He smiled at me a little bit, and the horrified look on my face. He licked a narrow line up my shoulder to the cut, and I almost thought he was flirting.

* * *

His voice growling through my lips, my eyes flashing blood red in Yamucha's direction, blood taste in my mouth, "**Treat me like a son, will you?**_" _

_He wants to hurt me. He hates me. Where is he? Protect me, I am so new. Unaware of the logic behind his cruel words. They hate us, mother. Why do they hate us? Where is the other one? Where is my father? _

In those moments I could _feel _my son's thoughts so intensely. They covered the pain like a warm blanket.

"She's going into labor." I'm in so much pain right now. My mother is hovering around me. I want to tell her to go away, that I look awful. I'm in Yamucha's arms. I could swear that I saw the Gravity Chamber shutter that night. It would be a long time before anyone would confirm the suspicion, that Vegeta had made his way back the night of Trunks' birth and purposefully stayed hidden until it suited his fancy.

"Oh my!"

"Kuririn!"

"Mrs. Briefs, let me take you away-"

"I'll be here with Bulma, I'll stay with her, don't worry about it-"

"See, see? He's a good boy, Bunny. He's going to take care of Bulma."

Our very private doctor came. She was as old as my mother and looked as good. The drugs took effect very slowly. She later remarked that she thought I was going to die. When she presented my lavender haired boy to me, I felt flushed with great feelings. I smiled down at him. All of the pain that I felt was washed away by the relief that it was finally over. Yamucha smiled at both of us, proud as if he'd done something. If he could hear this he would retort that he helped, or something like that.

He put his hand on my shoulder and timidly looked for my permission to look at my baby. I nodded to him. I think this was my first very big mistake. I should have known that Yamucha would cause prolonged suffering, and I should have kicked him out. I should have guessed that Vegeta came back early, and known that like in all other situations, Vegeta thrives off of conflict.

So he just watched us. And with the random, frantic action that we would take, he would condemn each and every one of us, and his revenge would bring everyone's life to a shattering halt. If not for the arrival of the androids, I don't think that we ever really would have figured out what to do about the baby boy that we now shared together. He didn't want me, but he was fascinated by the thing that we created despite himself. I know that's how he felt.

And I made him jealous. Inadvertently, at first, but after I felt his wrath for my apparent "whorishness," that I would even entertain the idea of raising _his _royal son as Yamucha's. I pushed his buttons, and then sometimes I would try to use our son against him. I will always be sorry for that, because Trunks and Vegeta may never have a meaningful relationship. Because I could, because I wanted to hurt him back. For abandoning me. For not caring. I'd punish Vegeta any way I could. For this whole pregnancy, which I am increasingly believing that he knew more about before even I knew anything about it.

Why should he not suffer? I guess we deserve each other, when it's all over with.

When Vegeta shows up to confront me about getting back together with Yamcha that night, after the "stress" of Yamucha's confrontation induced labor (apparently), all I could think of was the night long before that Yamucha had caught us.

And still, if Vegeta were to know at root of it all, that Yamucha mostly blamed Gokou for the failure of our relationship I wonder what he would do. Even when I fuck Vegeta, Yamcha's jealous of Goku. Makes a lot of fucking sense if you ask me. He's always been jealous of him. Some friend he is. He could never handle our friendship, he was never comfortable enough with himself that he could just let it go that Gokou had surpassed him in power and stature. No one could feel comfortable with how safe and good I felt in Gokou's arms. Gokou was the only innocent one in the lot of us. Instead of running around screwing everything that moves, he stayed loyal to his wife and trained to protect his family and home from a threat that is guaranteed to come.

I remember thinking about Goku that night. I remember thinking that maybe there was nothing wrong with being jealous of Goku, what he had. He'd managed to obtain something much greater than anything any of us ever could. The lot of us. Untamed. Unfaithful. Fickle. Selfish. Cruel.

We're all selfish children. Just showing off for each other. Just striving to get ahead. Just a little bit. Goku's the only one that stands anything to gain. He's only fought for things, not against like all of us. We're a mess, all of us.

But that night, much like this one, I was occupied with the dark look in Vegeta's eyes. I was watching his lips when he promised me over and over again that I belonged to him.

(and that I could not hide his son from him. He would be damned if I would bring my son up as a human.)

His mouth ran over mine. I had no idea that Yamucha was coming.

He whispered things to me.

I responded.

I always did.

It was our dance, and we were interrupted.

He's so close now.

So close.

I was crying out in pleasure.

I could barely hear Yamucha slam his fist into the tree to grab our attention. Vegeta probably knew about his presence and didn't care. He wanted to crush Yamcha. The inner sadist.

Look at what we've all done now.

* * *

There you go.


End file.
